Bullitt County Real Estate Market Report - This report analyzes property sales trends for Bullitt County homes over the last few months and versus the same time period last year.  The report includes number of homes sold, average listing price, average sales price, days on market (DOM), and current inventory.

Bullitt County encompasses the primary cities of Shepherdsville, Mt Washington, and Lebanon Junction.  Home sales from the smaller cities of Brooks, Fox Chase, Hebron Estates, Hillview, Hunter's Hollow, Pioneer Village and Zoneton is also included, but these are generally listed under Shepherdsville in the MLS.

Comments and Analysis

The number of homes sold in Bullitt County continues to be range hover around 70-80% of the number sold last year.  A number of factors including tighter lending restrictions and general economic instability contribute to this drop.  As a result of the decrease in sales, inventory levels have risen slightly and the absorption rate has increased significantly.

Despite the decrease in number of sales, homes have generally maintained their value.  Two prime factors account for this.  First, homes in Bullitt County never experienced a dramatic increase in price.  Therefore, buyers are willing to pay a price that is fair to both parties.  Second, fewer sellers (including builders) are putting homes on the market.  This is evidenced by the very slight increase in actual inventory.  Those who do not have to sell or who are not trading up are wisely waiting for the market to come back. 

For buyers who are ready and able to buy a house, now is a great time.  Interest rates are still low, selection is high, the government is offering a $7500 tax credit (low-interest loan) to first-time home buyers and we have had significant good news from Ford and GE in the last couple of months that helps secure economic stability in the region.    

For sellers who do not have to sell or are not planning to buy a larger home, keeping your Bullitt County home off of the market may be the best decision.  If you do have to list your property, make sure that your home is Priced, Prepared, and Promoted to sell. 

Please note that these are general conclusions related to homes in Bullitt County.  Results may vary by subdivision.  If you have interest in a specific neighborhood or price range, please contact me and I'll gladly prepare a CMA to cover the specific property or area.

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Erik Hitzelberger is a licensed real estate agent with RE/MAX Alliance. He specializes in helping clients buy and sell homes in Louisville and Bullitt County including Shepherdsville, Mt Washington, Brooks, Fox Chase, Hillview, Pioneer Village, Hunters Hollow, Zoneton, and Lebanon Junction. Feel free to email or call me (502-921-3989) about your real estate needs.

The following Bullitt County Market Report compares key real estate statistics for the first 6 months of 2008 to those of the same period in 2007. The data covers all sales that were recorded in the Greater Louisville Area Realtors MLS.

Nice Chart. What does it mean?

For buyers: The most obvious points are that the selection of properties is high and that prices are slightly better than last year. If you are able to purchase a property, now is a good time to be looking. Interest rates remain low, but market turmoil including the issues with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may drive rates higher in upcoming months.

That being said, a realistic approach is still required. My review of individual neighborhoods shows that the decline in sales price is more attributable to increased sales of bank-owned properties (REOs) than an overall decline in the market. Further, properties in Bullitt County are still selling at 97%+ of the list price. So, you can expect to find a move-in ready house in an area that you want for a fair price. But, you should not expect to get a steal.

For Sellers: House sales are down almost 17% but, they are still selling. If you need to sell your home or you are upgrading, it can be done. You must be prepared to list at Market Value not at some price that you need or want. Further, your house needs to be tip-top shape. You have a lot of competition and anything that needs repairs or updates is being passed over. If you do not need to sell or want to downsize, you would probably be better off staying put for the time-being.

See Also:

Shepherdsville Mid-Year Market Report

Mt Washington Mid-Year Market Report

Lebanon Junction Mid-Year Market Report

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Erik Hitzelberger is a licensed real estate agent with RE/MAX Alliance. He specializes in helping clients buy and sell homes in Louisville and Bullitt County including Shepherdsville, Mt Washington, Brooks, Hillview, Pioneer Village, Hunters Hollow, Zoneton, and Lebanon Junction.

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Late updates from April lead to a significant increase in sales from what was reported last month.  When this information is combined with May sales, the Inventory Index is starting to look pretty good.

Compared to last year, fewer sellers are putting their homes on the market.  This is helping keep the inventory levels reasonable and prices stable. 

The good news is tempered by still tightening lender standards which continue to make it harder for prospective buyers to get loans.  A recent move by lenders to cut available balances on credit cards and home equity loans is also going to hurt.  As credit limits are lowered, credit scores generally drop.  Buyers may want to check with their lenders to make sure that they are not negatively impacted by any of these changes.

The good news for buyers is that selection continues to be great.  Sellers are updating properties before listing them and it is easy to find a fairly priced property in move-in condition.

Without further ado...

Erik Hitzelberger is a licensed real estate agent with RE/MAX Alliance. He specializes in helping clients buy and sell homes in Louisville and Bullitt County including Shepherdsville, Mt Washington, Brooks, Hillview, Pioneer Village, Hunters Hollow, Zoneton, and Lebanon Junction.

Despite the fact that there are numerous Bullitt County properties available that are very fairly priced and mortgage rates are low, buyers seem unwilling or unable to take advantage of the current situation.  Unable may be the key phrase here as only 58 of the 74 pending sales from March closed this month.  Of course, inspection issues certainly played a part in a few cases.

Average Sale Price was at an 8-month low, offsetting part of the first quarter gains.  The good news is that we are still up 3.1% year-over-year.  This is consistent with the historical growth of the area.  

Looking at Pending real estate sales for Bullitt County reveals more good news.  Over 115 homes are currently pending.  For qualified buyers, now is still a good time to buy.       

Note: Higher Index numbers indicate a Buyer's Market while Lower Index numbers indicate a seller's market.

I am a licensed real estate agent with RE/MAX Alliance. I work with buyers and sellers in Louisville and Bullitt County including Shepherdsville, Mt. Washington, Brooks, and Lebanon Junction. Whether you are relocating to Bullitt County or simply moving across town, feel free to send me an email or contact me.

The news for February is not particularly good.  As I mentioned in my post last month, the weather (tornados and ice storms) was not real conducive to home buying and selling.  This combined with the current market conditions to yield:

New Listings: 138 (down 18% from Feb 2007)

Pending: 68 (down 24% from Feb 2007)

Sold: 45 (down 34% from Feb 2007)

Avg Sale Price:  $147,664 (up 3.2% from Feb 2007)

The good news is that average price is still strong.  The homes that are selling are close to list price (97%) and buyers are still willing to pay a premium over last year for properties that meet their needs.   Additionally, fewer properties came onto the market than did last year.  This will help keep the inventory level under control and will help keep prices strong. 

The bad news is that sales numbers in March are going to be off as well.  It won't be as bad as February, but I predict that sales will finish at least 15-20% down.  The worse news is that the 30-year mortgage rate has continued to rise and is now higher than it was at this time last year.  When you combine this with the fact that lender's are still tightening restrictions on loans, it becomes even harder for buyers to get loans.  As I mentioned here and here January and February were great times to buy a home.  Most of my argument still holds true, but, for the short term, interest rates are not as ideal as they were the last 2 months.  In addition, to fewer sales, expect Avg. Sales Price to be flat or even slightly down as a result of the increased cost of getting a loan.

If you are ready to buy or sell a home in Shepherdsville, Mt. Washington, or anywhere else in Bullitt County, please remember,

 I am here to help.

Ok, I was looking around and was dismayed to find that no information was available for Bullitt County.  As a resident of Shepherdsville and a Realtor, I guess that I'll assume responsibility and try to keep this updated.

Summary:

2007 marked a downturn in the Bullitt County real estate market.  Sales were off 9.2% and average home prices dropped 1.4%.  Additionally, Days on Market (DOM) increased from 86 to 99.  Despite this, 2008 is off to a great start.  January sales are up over last year and the average home price is up a whopping 13% from last January.  This can be partially explained by the fact that new home listings in Bullitt County were down almost 20% from last year.

With the tornadoes and snow storms earlier this month, February statistics will be interesting.

I'll try to get some graphs loaded next time.   In the meantime, check out my website and blog, and remember that whether you are looking to buy or sell real estate in Bullitt or Jefferson County,

 I am here to help.