Lexington, KY - 2009: Compared to housing markets around the country, Lexington's held steady. "We didn't experience a balloon in the past, so we did not have a balloon to bust," said Gale Fulton, president of the Lexington Bluegrass Association of Realtors.
With the help of an $8,000 federal tax credit, Lexington's inventory of houses slowly decreased and prices remained steady. In September and October, Realtors saw increases, 12 and 22 percent respectively, in the number of homes sold, compared to the year before. At the same time, the average sale price in October 2009 was $165,000, one percent more than it was in October 2008.
"Relatively, our market has done very well," said Todd Johnson, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Lexington. New home inventories have been trending down, too. "We're getting to a healthy level at most price points," Johnson said.
2010: With the extension of the new homeowner tax credit and the expansion of the credit to others, Realtors and builders are optimistic that 2010 will continue the gains of 2009. "Lexington should continue to outperform national markets," Johnson said.
A large number of houses remain for sale, however, meaning the market is still a buyers' market, Fulton said. The economy is encouraging homebuilders to move toward green building - making homes more energy efficient, recycling construction waste and reusing materials when possible. The move comes, in part, because green houses sell well.
"Customers are more interested in it," said Roy Honican, who will be chairman of the Home Builders Association's Green Build Council in 2010. "It puts you on the cutting edge for selling a home."
Honican predicts green houses will become even more popular if the United States decides to regulate carbon, which would lead to large energy price increases in Kentucky. "Energy efficiency will be a necessity at that point," Honican said.