Louisville home sales on turbo speed
Sometimes it’s not the number of homes sold that’s remarkable but the speed with which they are moving. That perfectly describes today’s real estate market.
First let’s hit the basics. There were 893 homes sold in Jefferson County during April. This represents a 9.4 percent gain over last year.
Much of this can be attributed to the stellar month provided by Area 8 (Douglas Hills, Hurstbourne, Middletown and Anchorage). For more about this firecracker of a month, check out Middletown Housing Report: Area 8 Louisville KY.
Through the first quarter, home sales are beating 2014 by a decent margin. Given thedramatically low inventory, imagine where we’d be if there were more homes for Louisville homebuyers to choose from?
That brings us to the second metric: home values. Now that we find buyers in competitive buying situations, it makes sense that we would see home prices move higher in a dramatic fashion. That hasn’t happened… so far.
The median home sale price for the month was $142,000, which was actually lower than March. Compared to last April, however, it’s 5.2 percent higher. I fully expect these values to continue to climb, even as Louisville home appraisers fight us every step of the way.
The average home sale price for the month was $186,101 compared to $163,558 in April 2014.
Now let’s look at what’s really different about our market: inventory. I wrote back in March that ourabsorption rate continued to fall. These low levels are creating more and more bidding wars, which is something Louisville hasn’t seen in some time. We’re not Naples, after all.
Looking at the absorption rate for April, we see it’s at exactly the same point (3.83) as it was in March. This signifies that we’re likely at a low point and it’s ready to turn higher.
Now that Derby is over and the flowers are in full bloom, we typically find a mad rush of new listings. I expect this shall be the case this year and it’s sorely needed. Our Days on Market number is also falling, as expected, with certain new home s flying off the shelf their first week on the market.
It should be noted, though, that today’s homebuyer is still favoring move-in ready. Hectic lifestyles are making home improvement projects less and less desirable.
So, if you’re considering a home sale, go the extra mile and make sure everything is perfect before you list. Once done, call the movers because your home is likely to sell fast.
