Louisville Real Estate Blog And News

For the first time in 12 months, Louisville Realtors sold more houses and condos in July than they did a year earlier. The most likely explanation is that Realtors are no longer comparing their monthly sales to figures boosted by the long-expired federal tax credits (like the one that was worth up to $8,000 for first-time buyers). Though deadlines were extended, all the tax credit deals were pretty much closed by June 2010. 'Realtors® may be quietly putting the Home Buyer Tax Credit sales figures into the history books, as they move to a post HBTC market,' the group said. Buyers still have a lot of choices, while sellers have a lot of competition. There were 26 percent more houses and condos on the market on July 31 than a year earlier. Read more.

Standard & Poor downgraded the U.S.'s credit rating on Friday, despite Congress reaching a deal in the final hours on the debt ceiling crisis last week. And now many of your customers may be asking: What does this mean for interest rates? The impact on your wallet of the Standard & Poor's downgrade of the nation's credit rating is similar to what would happen if your own credit score declined: The cost of borrowing money is likely to go up,” the Washington Post explained in the aftermath of S&P’s decision. S&P downgraded the U.S.'s top-notch AAA credit rating for the first time in history, moving it down one notch to AA+; the rating reflects a downgrade in S&P’s confidence in the U.S. government’s ability to repay its debts over time. It’s not clear, however, whether S&P’s downgrade will instantly effect rates, analysts say. Read more.