Louisville Area Sales Trends

 I went to a seminar last week, on real estate trends in our area. I will try to give you a synopsis of what I learned about the Louisville real estate market. Some of the figures given also included counties surrounding Louisville as they are considered part of the Greater Louisville Area.

Depending on the area, the volume of sales was about the same for 2009 as they were for 2008. Looking closer, we find that the last half of 2009 was better than the first half. As we look at sales volume correlated to home sales price, we find that there was an increase in volume in 2009 for houses that cost $250k or less. Houses that cost $250+300k were essentially flat. Houses over 300k were lower than 2008. Houses over 400k were down even more.

Average Days on Market (DOM) were about the same for both years at 50 days. Houses valued at over $500k were on the market for an average of 130+ days.

The average home price in 2009 was about the same as it was in 2003 and 2004. The peak occurred in the last quarter of 2006 and first quarter of 2007. The average price for the second half of 2009 was better than the first half of 2009.
A long term trend is for the second quarter of a year to have higher sales prices than the first quarter.

FHA financing is on the increase.

What is affecting these trends? The tax incentives are making a difference. The first time home buyer is buying houses under $200k. We see a higher volume at this level and it drags the average price down. The general feeling about the economy is better and the volume of sales is increasing. The market for high end houses is thin. (that may be an understatement)

What happens when the tax incentives for first time and move up buyers expire in April? The jury is still out. We would say that the economy will drive the market from that point.

For more information, give your favorite real estate agent a call.