Homes sales in Louisville see double-digit increase

Home For Sale Sign in Front of New House.Year-to-date homes sales in Jefferson County have risen 13 percent, according to the most recent numbers released by the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors.

From Jan 1. to Nov. 30, 10,376 homes and condominiums sold in Louisville, compared to 9,180 during the same period last year, GLAR reported. The average home price in Louisville was $192,195; the median was $149,950.

Home sales year-to-date rose 11.6 percent, with 14,983 homes and condos sold, for the entire MLS area, which includes parts of Southern Indiana as well as Jefferson, Nelson, Hardin, Oldham, Meade, Spencer, Trimble, Henry, Carroll and five other counties in Kentucky, the report states.

“With the new (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) rules now in effect, the pace of sales is returning to a more normal level,” GLAR president Greg Taylor said in a news release.

The CFPB rule Taylor referred to is commonly known as the “Know Before You Owe” act, which is aimed at ensuring prospective homebuyers better understand the terms of their mortgage and avoid “costly surprises,” according to the bureau’s website. It went into effect this fall.

Although home sales have risen, the number of available properties in the MLS area this year was nearly 19 percent lower compared to the same time in 2014, according to GLAR.

Low inventory means home prices continue to increase 4 to 6 percent, Taylor said, depending on the neighborhood and price point.