Louisville Home Sale for May 2013 - Up

Blame it on mild temperatures, the threat of interest rates rising or returning confidence in the economy. But plain and simple the Louisville housing market is back with a bang. Home sales continue to increase over past years and the price of homes in many parts of Louisville is on the rise. The number of homes going under contract in May 2013 was up 16.09% over May 2012 (see the raw data below). Equally as encouraging to home sellers is the number of homes that actually closed during the month of May 2013. Louisville saw an increase of 17.26% over the year before.

Another factor guaranteed to put a smile on the faces of sellers is the fact that the average price of homes is up 7.88% over May 2012. But that number needs a little explaining because there appears to be fewer foreclosures and short sales on the market so buyers are looking at fewer deals than in the past. Since discounted foreclosure homes are tougher to find, buyers are buying homes in a little higher price range. That plus the increased demand is helping to drive up prices a little faster than expected. This should come as a warning sign for buyers that are waiting to buy. Even a months delay could cost you money.

In fact we have investors looking to purchase foreclosures, fix them up and flip them but can’t find anything worth purchasing. Banks have been watching the headlines as well and are less reluctant to put homes on the market just for the sake of getting them sold. From where we sit it looks like the banks are willing to wait until the housing market regains more strength before releasing their shadow inventory of foreclosures into the market. At the same time they also see that by waiting for higher prices to return, they could recoup some of their losses by putting the homes on the market at a higher price.

Our Medley Sokoler Team has witnessed homes we put on the market getting multiple offers within two days. It’s happened a number of times during the month of May and it’s something we could have only dreamed of just a year ago. If a home is priced correctly, is in good condition and in a part of town attracting buyers we can tell you with confidence it’s going to sell and sell quickly. There are parts of the Louisville area where it will take more time to sell a home than others, specifically the south end, West End and homes that require more than a 30 minute drive from downtown.

There’s a new confidence in our economy and a real belief by buyers that housing prices can only go up from this point on. Without question buyers who have been sitting on the fence for the past five years are jumping off and coming back into the buying market. Some of our Medley Sokoler Team agents are reporting their having trouble finding buyers their perfect home. As of this writing there are 6951 homes on the market that’s down from years past.

Other key indicators that the market has recovered are that the average days on the market for Louisville area homes is down 25.84% from May of last year. The concern now is over interest rates. They hit 4% last week. Will that slow down the housing recovery or help by pushing remain buyers off the fence. Those buyers may want to wait it out and see if interest rates come back down or they may decide to buy now before rates went any higher. If only we had a crystal ball!  

May 2013

May 2012