LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Buying a home in the Louisville area has been tough the past few years, but local realtors said the market could be reaching a turning point.
For the past few years, the number of homes for sale in Louisville has been lower than the number of people looking to buy. But realtors said that is slowly turning in the other direction.
"Right now, it's exciting as far as it is a bit of an uptick as far as new listings," said Paula Barmore, president of the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors. "From a year ago, we're up 11.4% from May 2021 to May 2022."
And from April 2022 to May 2022, she said active listings increased by 5.5%.
"Historically speaking, summertime there are more houses on the market this time of the year, and we're seeing that, which is great," Barmore said.
While more homes for sale would normally mean lower prices for buyers, data shows that hasn't yet been the case. According to Realtor.com, homes in Louisville are selling for an average of $292,000.
"The increase in prices that we've had, I think, is going to be stable," Barmore said. "Maybe not go up as much as it did in the last 18 months."
While that's good news for sellers, it means slim pickings for first-time buyers.
"The people who are on the fence and are saying, 'Oh, I'm going to wait to buy something until the house prices drop,' we don't see that necessarily happening with the data we're seeing," Barmore said. "Unfortunately, that's what I'm really sad about is inventory wise, we don't really have a lot of affordable housing in Louisville. For that first-time homebuyer looking for something under $150,000, there's very little on the market."
Realtor.com says Louisville homes spent an average of 22 days on the market, which is nine days less than the national average.
"From a year ago, the difference is people," Barmore said. "You're not getting 25 offers. You might just be getting five."
She said your best shot at closing is with a cash offer above asking price.
"We have a lot more cash offers than I've ever seen in my career," she said.
Barmore also said to be patient, because the market will stay hot for some time.
"We still think it's probably three to five years," she said. "Those new builds, we're just still very behind in inventory and it can't catch up quick enough."
Because navigating the current housing market is so difficult, some experts say it can be beneficial to have an experienced realtor.
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