2010 April | Milestone - Kentucky Houses

April 30, 2010

By Becky Locknane

Jefferson County Public Schools has created an awesome publication titled, “Go Public” to help Louisville Realtors provide up-to-date, accurate information about JCPS to your clients. The booklet offers a brief overview of the district, its instructional programs and how to apply. Also included is information about each level of schools and the outstanding magnet programs that are currently being offered. This will be so helpful when showing Louisville Houses to your clients, especially the out of town clients that are not familiar with the local school system. No longer will you have to risk giving inaccurate information about Jefferson County Schools.

In the booklet you can find a cluster map for the Elementary Schools which focus on the basics like reading, writing, math, science and social studies. They also get young students interested in the arts, physical fitness, world languages, research and technology. Buyers of Louisville houses that have Middle School age children will also learn about the Middle Schools in Jefferson County and be provided information to help you find the school that might be a good fit for your Middle School student.

The information in the booklet about the High Schools in Jefferson County will give your clients an overview of the curriculum that is organized around one of five professional career themes that offer advanced college and career preparation.

Realtors can order these booklets to give their buyers and sellers of Louisville Houses by contacting the Communications and Publications Department of the Jefferson County Public Schools. Their phone number is 502-485-3228. Happy Selling! This is another tool for your toolbox!

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Realtors make great neighbors!

April 28, 2010

By Russell Thompson

Get to know your Milestone Neighborhood Realtor!

Think about all your neighbors, who has more to gain by your home’s increasing value? Your Neighborhood Realtor! A Realtor shows houses everywhere and knows what neighborhoods best fit their lifestyle. They buy not only with lifestyle in mind, but also for the investment in real property.
Who knows how important curb appeal is when it comes to values? Your Neighborhood Realtor! After looking at thousands of homes with clients your Realtor knows what people like to see when it comes to an exterior of any residence.
Who knows about real estate listings, foreclosures, and sales in your neighborhood? Your Neighborhood Realtor! While doing marketing reports for many different neighborhoods, your Realtor will include your own neighborhood’s activity fresh in his/her mind. Feel free to ask when you see them how the market is doing? How about your neighborhood? What about your home? I would say 99% of the time, your neighbor, the Realtor, would be able to give you a quick and accurate answer about the market status of Bluegrass homes. (I leave it at 99% to account for those of you that live beside a real estate appraiser.)
Who knows about Great Homes and Great Neighborhoods? Your Milestone Neighborhood Realtor!

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Local Market Update: Central Kentucky’s February 2010 data shows 25% rise in sales

April 23, 2010

By Judy Craft

A quick look at the marketing statistics for February 2010 in Central Kentucky shows a rise in sales, pending sales and a stable median sales price for Bluegrass homes.

Monthly % Change in Sales for Feb 2010 Central Ky. vs. Nation

Sales in the Central Kentucky region jumped 25% for February 2010 vs. February 2009. This is more than triple the 7.9% rise in sales that the National Association of Realtors reported for the nation for the same time period. This dramatic difference between local and national data shows that the Bluegrass real estate market does not necessarily fluctuate as the national market does because all real estate is driven by local factors.

Also, sales are on an upward swing since the beginning of the year when compared to last year. This rise in sales is likely due to a combination of seasonal trends, the Homebuyer Tax Credit and low mortgage rates.

Monthly Percentage Change vs. Last Year for Total Sales

Pending sales in the Bluegrass also rose by 11% for February 2010 vs. February 2009.

Pending Home Sales

Listings in Central Kentucky rose 3% for February 2010 vs. February 2009. Just as more buyers are entering the market, more people are now feeling comfortable in placing their homes for sale.

Inventory

Another factor that shows local stability is that the median sales price for single family residential homes in Central Kentucky rose 2% in February 2010 vs. February 2009. The National Association of Realtors reported a 1.8% drop in the median sales price for existing homes in the U.S. during the same month.

Subscribe to our RSS feed or watch the blog for my overview of March data in relation to the national market.

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Derby Time in KY~

April 22, 2010

By Becky Locknane

Kentucky Derby 2010

The first Saturday in May is considered a national holiday to most Kentuckians! It is when the Kentucky Derby is run every year. It started with “two minutes” and became two weeks of celebration! In fact, now it is called the “Kentucky Derby Festival” !

The Festival is one of the premier events of its kind in the world. It brings fun, excitement, international recognition and a spirit that is unmatched anywhere. The Festival blasted off this past Saturday, April 17th with “Thunder Over Louisville”. “Thunder “ (as it is called for short) is one of the nation’s largest annual fireworks shows which follows a day of watching a spectacular air show!

This year is the 136th Kentucky Derby. The Kentucky Derby is the finale of the two week celebration and is held at famous Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Also known as, “Run for the Roses”, the winning horse is draped in a garland of 554 red roses that are sewn into a green satin backing with the seal of the Commonwealth on one end and the twin spires of Churchill Downs and the number of the running at the other end. Each garland is also adorned with a ‘Crown” of roses, green fern and ribbon. The “Crown”, a single rose pointing upward in the center of the garland, symbolizes the struggle and heart necessary to reach the winners’ circle.

There are several ways to attend the Kentucky Derby! If you are fortunate enough, you can mix with many of the rich and famous, including a stream of celebrities on “ Millionaire’s Row”. Or……..there is always the infamous “Infield” where you are likely to see anything BUT a horse race!

The Kentucky Derby is noted for it’s legendary drink, the “Mint Julep”. The Mint Julep is a tradition as old as the Kentucky Derby itself. Rarely seen the rest of the year, even inside local Louisville houses, this potent concoction is the national drink for a few hours every first weekend in May.

But the Derby is not all about horse racing and drinking Mint Juleps…… there is of course, the Derby Hat! Men and women alike are donned in a variety of hat styles for the Derby. You will see some of the most beautiful and expensive hats in the world that day! You will also see some of the “tackiest” hats in the world that day!

As Kentuckians, we wait for it all year and it promises to be one of the greatest celebrations in horse racing. If you can’t be here, be sure to celebrate wherever you are!

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Walden Mortgage Group’s Weekly Newsletter

April 20, 2010

By Walden Mortgage Group

New Housing Index Reaches Best Level in 2 Years

The National Association of Home Builders announced that their Housing Market Index which measures builder’s sentiment and outlook for the industry jumped 5 points in April to a reading of 19. This is the highest reading in 24 months. The survey of 417 residential developers also showed that foot traffic from prospective buyers rose 4 points.

In a separate report, nationwide housing starts rose for the third consecutive month to a seasonally adjusted 626,000 units according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Requests for new construction permits also rose. They increased to an annual rate of 685,000 units.

Federal Reserve Report Shows Economic Strength

The Federal Reserve released their Beige Book last week. This report (named for the color of its binder) showed that “economic activity increased somewhat” in 11 out of 12 federal districts.

The results of the Fed’s new survey is consistent with chairman Ben Bernanke’s view that a modest recovery is unfolding, although it won’t be strong enough to materially drive down unemployment rates for some time.

The new survey suggested that consumers, whose spending accounts for 70 percent of national activity, are doing their part to keep the recovery going. Retailers in most parts of the country reported sales increases and merchants were “cautiously optimistic regarding future sales”.

What Happened to Rates Last Week

What Happened To Rates Last Week

Mortgage backed securities (MBS) gained +44 basis points last week which caused 30 year fixed rates to decrease for both government and conventional loans. MBS pricing improved due to a weak Consumer Sentiment report, a jump in Initial Weekly Jobless Claims, continued concern over Greece’s solvency and a massive market shake-up that resulted from the new Goldman-Sachs charges.

What to Watch Out For This Week

What To Watch Out For This Week

The following are the major economic reports that will hit the market this week. They each have the ability to affect the pricing of Mortgage Backed Securities and therefore, interest rates for Government and Conventional mortgages. We will be watching these reports closely for you and let you know if there are any big surprises:

We know you are busy and it is virtually impossible for you to keep track of what is going on with the economy and other events that can impact the housing and mortgage markets. Just leave it to us, we monitor the live trading of Mortgage Backed Securities which are the only thing government and conventional mortgage rates are based upon.

Mike Dunn, Holleigh Sharp & Jeff Sharp

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Dennis Miller’s Louisville, KY Community Update

April 10, 2010

By Dennis Miller

Polar Bear Plunge Benefit

The Community Relations Committee has been very active since the last posting. The Polar Bear Plunge raising money for the Special Olympics went on as scheduled, and no, it was not 80 degrees as hoped for. It was hovering around 30 degrees when Greg Taylor, one of our members, courageously made the plunge. The event was well attended and Greg raised over $5000 personally with a nice donation from the committee.

The GLAR annual Bowl-A-Thon took place in early March and raised over $3000 for CASA and The Salvation Army. Over 170 bowlers (including 8 from the Louisville office) participated in the event. There were also over 20 volunteers making this one of the largest events the Board participates in. Numerous prizes provided by our affiliates along with great food and fun made this a special event and one we will be participating in again next year. Kudos goes out to Karen Story and her team for organizing the event.

Upcoming events include Camp Quality (a week-long camp for children with cancer), Repair Affair, VIPS (Visually Impaired Preschool Services) and monthly visits to The Wayside Christian Mission serving breakfast to the homeless. The Louisville Milestone office will be serving breakfast in April to those who are not fortunate enough to be in Louisville houses.

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National Open House Weekend!

April 9, 2010

By Becky Locknane

National Open House Weekend this Saturday and Sunday!

National Open House Weekend is this Saturday and Sunday, April 10th and 11th. Kentucky Association of Realtors has teamed up with associations across the country for one weekend of Nationwide Open Houses. The purpose is to encourage those who are thinking of buying a home to take advantage of unique home market factors and the federal home buyer tax credit that expires on April 30th. That is the deadline to write a contract in order to be eligible for the tax credit.

Milestone Realty Consultants is participating in this first event of its kind in a BIG way. Our agents will be showcasing lots of Kentucky houses in eight or more counties across the state. Many Lexington homes will be open both Saturday and Sunday. Twelve Louisville houses will be participating in the weekend event.

KAR is providing free balloons to the local associations for the agents to tie to their open house signs as well as flyers and advertising. The National Association of Realtors is providing national media coverage to look for the “blue” balloons!

The weather here in Kentucky is supposed to be beautiful this weekend, so have fun and enjoy this national event!

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The Housing Market Update

April 5, 2010

By Walden Mortgage Group

Vacation Home Sales Rebound

When the housing market started to head in the wrong direction, vacation homes led the way. Since they were not the borrower’s primary residence, these properties were dumped on to the market first. So, it is great news that we can now see a reversal in that trend.

The National Association of Realtors reported that vacation home sales jumped 7.9 percent from 2008 to 2009 in their 2010 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey. The big news is that 90% of the vacation home purchasers were buying the property as a true vacation home and not for investment purchases. Previously, wild speculative buying of vacation properties for the purpose of selling it again in the future was a large reason for the collaspe in that market segment.

Additionally, 70% of the purchases were for single-unit non-attached structures. The median transaction price increased from $150,000 a year ago to $169,000. For local Market Statistics visit Milestone’s website.

Positive Job Growth

Friday’s Unemployment Rate was unchanged at 9.7% for the third month in a row. But we did have some very exciting news within that report: For the first time since the financial crisis began, we experienced Job Creation!

Yes, Non-Farm Payrolls increased for the first time as we added 164,000 new net jobs. This shows that private sector job creation is underway which is what will continue to lead us into stronger demand for housing. As people return to work, consumer confidence naturally rises and helps to stimulate demand for housing.

What Happened to Rates Last Week:

What Happened To Rates Last Week

Mortgage backed securities (MBS) lost -103 basis points last week which caused 30 year fixed rates to increase for both government and conventional loans. Our worst mortgage rates were on Friday after the release of the Unemployment Report which showed positive job creation for the first time and pressured mortgage rates. We also felt the sting of the Federal Reserve ending their $1.25 trillion mortgage backed securities purchase program. This removed the single largest purchaser of MBS from the market place.

What to Watch Out For This Week:

What to Watch Out For This Week

Mike Dunn, Holleigh Sharp & Jeff Sharp

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Spring Time Repair Affair!

April 2, 2010

By Becky Locknane

Milestone Realtor, Janet Royer, at "The Repair Affair"

Every Spring the Realtor Community Housing Foundation of Lexington Bluegrass Association of Realtors sponsors “Repair Affair”. Repair Affair is an event that provides home rehabilitation for elderly low-income residents. Local Realtors and other community volunteers join in partnership with the Remodelers Council of the Home Builders Association of Lexington to make the program a success.

We usually have around 15 Bluegrass homes that are chosen from the application process to repair every Spring. We help elderly and disabled people who can’t afford to do the repairs to their homes themselves. We do everything from landscaping to painting. Occasionally, a roof will be repaired or replaced and a professional roofer is hired to do the work.People with skill levels of all degrees are welcome to join in the work and fun. Milestone Realty Consultants usually has a team of volunteers to sponsor an entire house. We get out there and pull weeds, scrape paint, and wash vinyl!If you are interested in helping repair these Bluegrass Homes, volunteers are welcome. The Repair Affair this year is May 6th and 7th. Email me at blocknane@milestoneky.com and I will make sure you are contacted.

Happy Spring!
Becky Locknane

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