You can listen to our latest Radio Show here! Be sure to listen to our Louisville Real Estate Show on 840 WHAS Sunday morning from 8:30-9:00 am! Have a question for our team of experts? Call (502) 252-1890 or (502) 376-5483 to leave a question. For more information about Louisville Real Estate or to work with the hardest working Real Estate Team in Kentucky “The Sokoler Medley Team" at REMAX Properties East, 10525 Timberwood Circle, Louisville KY 40223 head to www.WeSellLouisville.com, email [email protected] or call (502) 376-5483.

We’re here in Cancun for the latest market update. Scuba diving was fun, but it’s time to dive into the numbers. This market update is coming to you from a resort in Cancun, where we are taking a few moments to enjoy ourselves. I’ve been accused in the past of not taking time to relax and enjoy life, so I’m doing exactly that. Before I get to what else I’m doing here in Cancun, let’s talk about something more important: the current state of the Louisville real estate market. Home sales in Louisville are doing very well. They are up 4.6% compared to November of 2015. The number of homes going under contract is also up 8.3% from 2015. However, here’s the problem. The number of listings on the market, as of last month, is down 22.2% from last year. That’s a problem because buyers can’t find homes. Since 2011, inventory has dropped dramatically, bottoming out in January of last year. We expect January of 2017 to bring an even lower level of inventory. If you’ve been thinking of selling, this may be the perfect time. With the supply and demand where it’s at right now, you’re not likely to get a much better deal any time soon. Sellers can take advantage of these conditions. We just started tracking homes by price range, and according to the latest market report., the absorption rate (a measure of inventory) is different for each price range. It’s low in the lower price ranges, but as you move up into the $500,000 and above range, the inventory skyrockets. The buyer traffic is there, but the inventory just isn’t. This is probably part of the reason we have seen interest rates start to tick up slightly. According to the experts, rates are expected to rise a bit more through 2017, hovering in the 4.2 to 4.4 range. So, back to Cancun. We are here at a mastermind conference with some great agents from around the country and our friends at Vyral Marketing. Vyral and their CEO. Frank Klesitz did a great job setting this up. We were able to pick some of the brains of the top people in this business and have a good time doing it. Our excursions included scuba diving in the second largest barrier reef in the world, exploring an underwater cave, and seeing ancient Mayan architecture. Check out some of the places we visited in our video above. If you have any questions for us or you’re looking to buy or sell in Louisville, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

I’m here in San Francisco in a crowded room full of talented real estate agents. Selling a Louisville home? Get a free home value report  Buying a Louisville home? Search all homes for sale  I’m here in San Francisco in a crowded room full of talented real estate agents. I’m working my way through the room at the Inman Innovator of the Year awards. This amazing event was started by Brad Inman, a former reporter who started his own website, inman.com for reporting on trends in the real estate industry. I’m honored to be a nominee for “Innovator of the Year” and I couldn’t pass up a trip to the Bay Area to see some of the latest innovations in real estate. Before I talk about those, let’s go over a quick update on what’s going on in the Louisville real estate market. Louisville is a hot seller’s market. The market is very hot in Louisville and we’re seeing consumers who are not able to find the right home because of limited inventory. The absorption rate, a measurement of how long it takes homes to sell, shows we have a 3.5-month supply of homes. A seller’s market is typically anything below five months. Back to the Inman event, where we are checking out a number of different products either being used by consumers now or are on their way to consumers in the near future. One of these products that we’ve been using for a year and a half now is the Matterport 3D Camera. It allows us to get great virtual home tours for our listings, and even offers outside views from the front and back doors of the home. They are also working with the Samsung VR on virtual reality home tours. Another company we use, Docusign, is continuing to make it easier for you as a homeowner to sign documents for your home. You can sign wherever you go and do it right from your mobile device. Utility Score is a startup company that will help you determine how much a home will cost, not just in price, but in utilities as well. They provide personalized recommendations on ways to save energy and water in your house. They can tell you how much you’ll pay for those things before you even buy the home. Finally, a new website called PlanetRE will help find homes for you within a predetermined commute to work, proximity to a school, accommodating to a specific lifestyle, and more. That’s just a quick look at some of the exciting technology coming to the real estate market. If you have any questions for us or if you’re looking to buy or sell, give us a call or send us an email. It’s a great time for both!

Our real estate market is extremely hot right now. Here’s what you can do to take advantage of this market as a buyer or seller. The Louisville market is hotter than we’ve ever seen it before. We measure the number of homes that are selling by absorption rate, which takes into account our current inventory and the number of recent sales. The figure is a measure of how long it would take all the homes on the market to sell if no other homes came on the market. In some price ranges in our market, basically from $100,000 to $300,000, the absorption rate is down to 1.1 months, putting us in an extremely strong seller’s market. For reference, a balanced market is between four and six months of inventory. Right now, you are able to put your home on the market for a little more money while also being able to sell it within a few weeks, or even within a few days. Homes are moving extremely quickly due to the high number of buyers in the market. Louisville real estate is as hot as we’ve ever seen. If you’re a buyer in the market who is thinking of moving up, conditions are perfect for you. You can sell your home in a strong seller’s market while buying a home in a higher price range that’s in more of a balanced market. If you’re a buyer who is looking in those hot price ranges, however, I have an extra strategy that might help you out. In this competitive market, we have been using escalation clauses in our offers. We write in the offer that we are willing to increase our offer by $1,000 over the next highest offer up to a certain amount. Without doing anything but putting this clause in our contracts, we can help you make a much stronger offer. This strategy gives you a jump on a lot of buyers out there who have agents who have never even heard of an escalation clause. Keep in mind that there are a few things to be wary of when using this strategy. For one, the home has to appraise or you have to be willing to pay the difference in the appraisal price and the purchase price. Secondly, we are seeing a lot of sellers simply reject lowball offers, even with escalation clauses. Sellers feel insulted when buyers come in too low, even if they write in the offer that they will increase it. Coming in at list price with an escalation clause is your best bet in this type of market climate. If you have any questions for us or want to know more about escalation clauses or what’s happening in the Louisville market, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. We would love to hear from you soon.

The Louisville market is red hot right now with high demand from buyers and extremely low inventory. What does this mean to you, though? Today, Sandie and I are out about 35 miles from Las Vegas in majestic Red Rock Canyon for a beautiful backdrop to talk real estate. The Louisville market is red hot right now, but problems remain with buyers not being able to find homes. We track inventory with an absorption rate to determine how many months of supply the market has, with anything above six months said to be a buyer's market and anything below five months said to be a seller's market. Five to six months of inventory is said to be a balanced market. As you can see from the slide in the video above, the absorption rate for homes in the $50,000 to $400,000 price range is a little disturbing for homebuyers because there are so few homes available. Inventory is low and prices are projected to keep rising until 2021. In fact, the $150,000 to $200,000 price range has just 1.2 months of inventory. The market is so hot that we're seeing multiple offers on a home in a single day. On the other hand, there is a 13.4-month supply of homes in the $700,000 and above price range, making it a firm buyer's market. Home prices have continued to rise over the last year; many areas of Louisville have seen prices increase by 5.47%, bringing home prices just about back to where they were prior to the bubble bursting in 2007. This continues to be a reason homebuyers are clamoring to buy a home now; prices are projected to keep rising until 2021. If you bought a $250,000 home this January, it would be expected to rise in value by $42,898 by 2022. Even though mortgage interest rates rose slightly this month, the projection is still low, so it's still a perfect time to buy a home. We expect the market to get hotter and hotter throughout 2017. Of course, that depends on what we see from the interest rates, but things are looking good so far. Now back to the beautiful part—Red Rock Canyon. The color of this canyon is something spectacular that we just don't have back in Louisville. While in Las Vegas, we also got a chance to check out Topgolf. In the video above, you can take a look at my silky smooth golf swing and Sandie's less successful attempt. The Las Vegas Topgolf is a multi-level facility and it even has a pool with a bar. It's very impressive. Thanks for joining us today! If you're thinking about selling your house, now is the time to do it, so give me a call or send me an email today. I look forward to helping you!

Why is the Louisville real estate market so competitive right now? Inventory is low and buyer demand is high; I’ll explain what that means for you today.  About four weeks ago, I had a quadruple bypass. Even though I am relaxing and taking it easy here in Sarasota, I am still thinking about the Louisville real estate market. Existing home sales are the highest they have been since 2007. In fact, in the Kentucky area, home sales are up 3.6% month over month and 3.1% year over year. As you know, anything between five and six months of inventory is considered a balanced market. If there are more than six months of inventory, then you are in a buyer’s market. With less than five months of inventory, we are in a firm seller’s market.  The fear of rising interest rates is driving buyer activity. In fact, if you are looking for a home priced between $100,000 and $300,000, the absorption rate is between one and two months. That is simply unheard of! Now is a great time to sell faster and for more money.  Even with amazing buyer demand, a lot of people don’t know that you can buy a home with less than 3% down. Most people think you need 10% to 20% down. Even current homeowners think they need 20% down to move up into a higher price point. Sandie Sokoler has been in the mortgage industry for 40 years and she can tell you that you only need 3% down and a 680 credit score with Fannie Mae.  Housing inventory around the country continues to drop. We can expect more homes on the market in April, May, and June, which is peak buyer’s season. If you want to sell your home, now is actually a better time to be on the market because you will have less competition.  The fear of rising interest rates is driving buyer activity right now. Rates have come down a bit and they are projected to hover between 4.25% and 4.75% for the remainder of the year.  We expect the market to get even hotter as 2017 continues, especially with some of the reforms coming down from Washington. If you are thinking about buying or selling, now is the time to get out there.  Before you put your house on the market, send me an email. I will send you a copy of our selling guide called “150 Steps to Selling Faster and for More Money” for free and with no obligation. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I am always here to help you!

I’m here at The Fun Park in Middletown to let you know why right now is the best time to sell your home.  If you are looking for something to do during the cold winter days in the Louisville area, the Fun Park in Middletown might be the place for you. I’ll go over what’s going on here at the Fun Park in a second, but for now let’s turn our attention to what’s happening with our real estate market. In the Louisville and southern Indiana area it’s apparent that right now is the best time to list and sell your home. Waiting until spring could be a huge mistake. Part of the reason demand is so high right now is the fact that the housing supply is incredibly low not only in our area, but across the country. Additionally, interest rates are still historically low even after the increase a couple months ago. Rent is also continuing to increase, so people are looking to step into the role of homeownership. The absorption rate is talked about pretty often and includes the amount of inventory on the market, the number of new listings coming on the market, and buyers. Anything more than a six-month supply of homes is said to be a buyer’s market, a five- to six-month supply is a normal market, and anything less than a five-month supply of homes is a seller’s market. If you take a look at the Louisville market, the absorption rate is at a 2.93-month supply, so we are in a very strong seller’s market. If you break down the absorption rate by price range, the majority of homes between $100,000 and $500,000 are in a 1.4 to 2.9 months supply, which is incredible. These numbers are likely sprouting as a result of growing consumer confidence. In fact, according to Bloomberg News, consumer confidence jumped to the highest level since 2004. Additionally, CNBC reported that the percentage of Americans who believe the economy will get better in the next year jumped an unprecedented 17 points to 42%. We are finding an amazing amount of buyers who are sitting and waiting for homes to come on the market. When we list a home, we schedule showings within a matter of hours because there are so many people looking for homes. So if you want to maximize the amount of money you can get for you home and sell it quickly, now is the time to give us a call. Now, let’s shift back to where I am, The Fun Park in Middletown. It doesn’t matter if you’re a kid or a kid at heart, there is something here for everyone. There are lots of games for kids, but adults can look forward to laser tag and a number of other things to do while spending a cold day inside. We are finding an amazing amount of buyers who are sitting and waiting for homes to come on the market. The Fun Park in Middletown has some great packages that you can buy as well. Those packages accommodate both people who want to spend a few hours there and those who want to spend a whole day there. Also, when it gets warm out, putt-putt golf and go-carts are added to the fun things to do here! If you want any more information about buying or selling a home, we are here for you 24/7. If you’d like our free booklet on selling your home faster and for more money, send me an email. You can also give me a call if you have any questions or would like a free consultation. You can reach me anytime!

Today I’m speaking with an expert to inform you of what to expect from interest rates in 2017.  It's finally 2017, and one thing a lot of people are keeping an eye on is interest rates and how they will affect our real estate market. With that in mind, today I’m speaking with Jeff Ratanapool from Century Mortgage to get his perspective on this topic. Jeff has an excellent record of predicting all things real estate. Over the past year, he’s made a dozen major predictions and only misfired on one of them. Regarding interest rates, he predicted they would drop for a little while and then come back up again and end around 4.25%, which is almost exactly what happened. For 2017, from the standpoint of interest rates, Jeff notes that there is a lot of uncertainty because of the new presidential administration. There is also a lot of hope, though, because there should be some regulatory relief across all channels of business. This could mean that lending restrictions will loosen and allow for more people to get financed. Jeff is excited about the number of people who could buy homes. The uncertainty in the financial markets will likely cause rates to inch upward, but not by a large margin. According to him, we should stay in the 4% to 4.5% range, and may even dip below 4%, depending on what else happens globally.  Overall, Jeff foresees a great year of volume and financing, and possibly the start of many great years to come. If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home, now is the perfect time to give us a call. We’d be happy to help!

You can listen to our latest Radio Show here! Be sure to listen to our Louisville Real Estate Show on 840 WHAS Sunday morning from 8:30-9:00 am! Have a question for our team of experts? Call (502) 252-1890 or (502) 376-5483 to leave a question. For more information about Louisville Real Estate or to work with the hardest working Real Estate Team in Kentucky “The Sokoler Medley Team" at REMAX Properties East, 10525 Timberwood Circle, Louisville KY 40223 head to www.WeSellLouisville.com, email [email protected] or call (502) 376-5483.

You can listen to our latest Radio Show here! Be sure to listen to our Louisville Real Estate Show on 840 WHAS Sunday morning from 8:30-9:00 am! Have a question for our team of experts? Call (502) 252-1890 or (502) 376-5483 to leave a question. For more information about Louisville Real Estate or to work with the hardest working Real Estate Team in Kentucky “The Sokoler Medley Team" at REMAX Properties East, 10525 Timberwood Circle, Louisville KY 40223 head to www.WeSellLouisville.com, email [email protected] or call (502) 376-5483.