Moving a company or manufacturing plan to a different  city is a major decision. The executives weigh a numerous amount of pros and cons before making an executive decision. They consider state tax codes, amount of skilled and non-skilled labor, proximity to strategic partners, and geographic location.

Louisville compares rather decently to other cities for companies choosing Louisville as their headquarters. The talent base in states like New York, California, and Massachusetts have been enough for tech companies to justify those states' anti-corporate tax codes. The good news is the balance has been shifting to smaller cities lately.

The tax foundation has published the tax climate index for 2012 and Kentucky ranks 22nd with an index of 5.20. The higher the index score the more favorable tax system.  Indiana comes in at 11th with a score of 5.99, while Tennessee was ranked 14th and a score of 5.62. Wyoming, South Dakota, and Nevada came in the top three respectively, while California, New York, and New Jersey came in last.

Coming in 22nd is pretty good even when there is room for improvement. It's better than half!!

. The cost of living is also a major factor in a corporation's cost structure. They must consider cost of goods, salaries, energy costs, real estate, etc. All of these factors are weighed by decision makers. Louisville real estate matches up rather nicely to a similar city such as Charlotte, North Carolina.

Louisville's average listing price is $206,000 while Charlotte's is $265,500. The average price per square foot is $94 in Louisville and $175 in Charlotte. The most impressive factor is the average number of sales. Louisville is 962, much greater than Charlottes 752.

Louisvillians pay less for their homes, get more house for their money, and have a higher sale activity.

If a corporation moving from a city like Charlotte to Louisville, they would experience a more business-friendly tax situation,...

Myth 1: Louisville real estate agents make a ton of money.

Even though this myth is a widely held opinion, it isn't true. The top performing 5% of agents make 1/3 of all the revenue, while the top 10% make 54.2%. While the average gross income for a Louisville agent in 2011 was $27,364 the mdian income was just below $13,000. Just because a handful of agents are make pretty decent money doesn't mean it's the norm for the entire industry. Keep in mind most agents are only part time.

Myth 2: Agents must do everything their clients ask.

An agent is defined as a business representative. A realtor is a licensed agent who adopts a higher level of service through the Realtor's Code of Ethics. The agent is supposed to protect and promote their clients best interests, and here are three kinds of requests that are not supposed to be asked of by a client.

1. Any unlawful request, such as the Fair Housing Statutes
2. Any legal requests, but is'nt in the clients best interest. Agent's training and experience gives them the credentials to know the difference.
3. Any lawful request that is within the legal limits, but is beyond reasonable service. Just because the client has Wednesday off doesnt mean you should show them 65 houses in one day. 

Common sense is the usual winner here. Agents want to have a good experience with their clients so they are referred to friends, but if the client's requests jeapordize the agent's license there will be problems. This experience is suppose to benefit both parties, and maybe even construct a freindship.

Myth 3: Agents get referral dollars from lenders, appraisers, home inspectors, etc.

By law this myth isn't true. By law the only referral fee an agent can receive money from is their own broker, and that broker is only allowed to get a referral fee from another broker. 

How this works: Agent Q helped the Smith family buy a home several years ago, and now...

Last August Freddie Mac issued its press release on the Economic & Housing Market Outlook.

The outlook highlights:

• Employment has risen 117,000, which is the best it has been since April 2011. The unemployment rate decreased a tenth to 9.1%.
• In the first half of 2011, economic growth was figured to be about 0.8%at an annual rate, which is still too weak to create jobs to stay up with the growth of the growing labor force.
• Comparable to the first quarter of 2008, borrowers are paying around $130 billion less in mortgage interest today.
• The interest rates on 15-year fox-rate loans are always a good idea for buyers considering refinancing. It reached 3.5% in early August assuring the refinance boom continues.
• Freddie Mac House Price Index for the U.S. shows that prices are down 25% on average,  as of June 2011 compared with its peak in 2006.

They predict a reasonable time frame in the future where interest rates will stay their current range. While home values have dropped 25% in the past 5 years, Louisville has actually gained 1.5%.

It's encouraging to know that employment has risen, but it needs to continue to do so along with the consumer confidence for the market to really have a good rebound. What is good for the country is good for Louisville, but on a smaller scale. Let the good news roll.

In the middle of the muck of the housing market are home design trends rising for 2012. Let's take a look at the top seven of them.

1. Home Size is Decreasing.

     Louisville is seeing less homes being built, and the ones that are being built are smaller in square feet on average. Families are choosing to build smaller, more effecient homes. This trend began in 2007, and the total square footage has been decreasing every year. It looks like it will continue to decrease through 2012.

2. Green Building Components.

     Most Americans are valuing green building materials more and more each month. This trend will not have an end in the future. A related concept is utilizing repurposed materials (recycling). So designers are finding these old recycables and reusing them in homes, which some actually do look pretty nice.

3. Reducing Home Maintenance.

     As we get older we won't want to keep up with more and more maintenance. Maintenance-free living is the preferred path for most home owners, but it is inevitable. However, maintenance-free living will be a major factor for homes design. Using composite building materials instead of wood reduces the need for a painter to paint the walls. Vinyl siding improves exterior of the home for the long run.

4. Flexible, Accessible Layouts.

     Rooms with multiple room options give home owners flexibility in choosing which room they want to serve what purpose. Larger kitchens that can hold a family dinner are replacing traditional dining rooms. Accessibility is also a new home design trend that is catching on fairly fast. People are living longer in this time period. So you will see wider door frames, lower sinks, more wheelchair ramps, and more grab bars the bathroom. Single story homes will fetch a higher price than multi-level...

Gene Snyder Blasting to Start Soon

Will You Be Affected?

Make sure to plan accordingly if you live in Eastern Jefferson County. The Department of Highways District 5 Office advises motorists that construction crews will start blasting work on the southbound shoulder of I-265 (Gene Snyder Freeway) near the U.S. 60 (Shelbyville Road) interchange Tuesday, October 25th between 1 and 4 p.m. Blasting work will continue in the same area each weekday between 1 and 4 p.m. for approximately two weeks. During blasting, traffic in both directions will be stopped from five to 15 minutes. Temporary traffic stops will also occur on Shelbyville Road between North English Station Road and Beckley Woods Drive.Motorists are encouraged to watch for traffic slowdowns in the blasting area and to consider using alternate routes. The actual starting date and duration of this work may be adjusted if inclement weather or other unforeseen delays occur. 

Dial 511 or log on to 511.ky.gov for the latest in traffic and travel information in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

 
For more information:
...

The most recent news concerning Louisville is the closing of the Sherman Miton bridge. Louisville politicians have been arguing with East End money for more than ten years. They've been arguing about the building of the East End bridge. Engineers have estimated the cost for repairing the bridge, and the calculations still aren't complete since it took place September 8th.This may mean a few things for real estate in Louisville.

One thing for sure is that if you're looking to buy a house in the Kentuckiana region, you will not want to buy one in southern Indiana. Even though 17% of the Louisville workforce is from southern Indiana, the closing of the Sherman Miton bridge will have substantial effects on commuting. Homeowners trying to sell in southern Indiana and Floyd Knobs are having a difficult time selling

On the other side, homeowners trying to sell in Kentucky are seeing a small rise in sales. Areas like Crescant Hill, Highlands, Audoban Park, and downtown.

The end to real estate recession isn't near.

Until things are back to normal, we won't be able to evaluate the extent to which the bridge failure really affects property values and transaction.Forcasting things like these never really pans out well for anyone, so there's no reason to try and guess which way the dice will roll. Goodluck with your real estate adventures.

Greedy borrowers, shady lending practices, and not much common sense from our elected officials. Since the beginning of the house crisis, not much has been done to fix it. Our forclosure numbers are through the roof, but maybe the worst hasn't come yet. Most say our recent legislation is a step in the right direction.

According to the National Association of Realtors, distressed sales have peaked. Of coarse forclosures aren't going to stop tomorrow, nor the next day. But it is a positive step when there are less forclosures this month than last month.

Distressed properties are homes that is drowning financially, and is drowning surrounding properties. Even if your mortgage payment is paid to date, the short sale next door or down the street are negatively affecting your home's value.

Louisville doesn't have the worst housing market, however, home prices have dropped one percent from July 2010 to July 2011. Even though our Louisville market isn't the strongest, it's certainly not the worst.

So where do we go now? WHo knows, but jobs are the major concern for right now. Louisville job rate hasn't declined, but has held steady at 9.5% so we'll have to endure the rough waters until this recession ends.

Housing prices are decreasing in many markets, but your property tax bill is most likely increasing. But you can fight back is the good news.

Propert taxes in the United States have increased 20% from 2005-2009 says the most recent data available. The median annual real-estate-tax payment was $1,917 in 2009 from $1,614 in 2005. Home prices decreased 31% in major suburban areas during the same period.

Local governments normally don't measure house values every year and they have limits on property tax increases, which is why the value of a house downs't move in snyc with property taxes. That means when the market was healthier, your house value should reflect your property tax rate. There isn't much that can be done about your tax rate (set by local governments), however home owners can appeal to their local accessors to get their assessment lowered. WHich will translate into a lower tax bill.

Most homeowners are paying too much for property taxes, but there are ways to get a successful appeal. You need to fact-check your accessor's work. Nearly half of all successful appeals begin when homeowners find an error in the accessor's description of their home. Finding these errors can drive up the value of your house significantly.

Local officials find value in your home by house-by-house appraisals, computer models, and even ariel photogrpahs to see if there are any new additions to your house like a swimming pool etc. Since it is difficult to evaluate every house every year, they also look at recent house sales in your area.

Errors are not uncommon when finding the value of your home. So if you have the money to spare, hiring a lawyer or property-tax consultant is worth it. Appealing your house value is something to look into if you think you are paying too much in property taxes. Depending on the state or area, evaluations are every year or every couple of years. So take a look if you think you're paying too much.

Next time we...

J.D. Power & Associates announced on July 27, 2011 that Remax ranked highest in customer satisfaction for buyers and sellers in 2011 residential real estate survey. It’s encouraging to know that our clients do appreciate us in this difficult market. We work hard for their continued trust and confidence while we only deliver our best efforts. Thank you to all of our clients, we appreciate your dedication to our real estate family, and we promise to continue serving you even better than before because you deserve it.

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