As 2011 dawns in Louisville, the city is preparing for the inauguration of a new mayor, Greg Fischer. The Center for Neighborhoods is even handing out free tickets this week to people involved in neighborhood groups, homeowners associations, nonprofit civic groups and small cities to the One City Inaugural Celebration Breakfast next Monday. Fischer, who won the recent election with 51% of the votes promises to create jobs, develop neighborhoods, and expand the economy – welcome words to Louisville residents.  These are the type of programs that can spur the housing market too.

Fischer has a special commitment to downtown development and promises incentives to streamline the permitting process, provide property tax abatement for private developers of affordable housing, provide rehabilitation tax credits for historic structures, and return vacant and abandoned properties to regular use.  He foresees a downtown connected to neighborhoods. As he noted in his campaign platform,  “It is important for Louisville to have a strong downtown because downtown is where we come together as a community. It is where people from PRP, Prospect, Russell, and Fern Creek sit side by side for a show or a game.  It is where our visitors stay and do business.  Downtown belongs to all of us.”

Time will tell if this is just another politician talking, but developments in downtown and surrounding areas have already turned downtown into a more vigorous business district, an afterhours playground, and an exciting housing alternative.  The scene has been set for the future:

Housing units in downtown are expected to exceed 4,000 by the end of 2010 due to new construction and renovation of old buildings.  Current projects in varying states of development include Museum Plaza, Gallery Square, Mercantile Gallery Lofts, the Hub at 300-320, and the Fleur de Lis Condos will offer housing and retail.  Supplementary services, such as the newly owned CitySpaces storage facility in nearby Butchertown, make moving to potentially smaller quarters in the central city very convenient. 

 Yum! Center, as well as the new Muhammad Ali Center, the Louisville Slugger Museum, and Waterfront Park offers sports and entertainment especially convenient to city dwellers.  A short distance away, Fourth Street Live offers restaurants and additional entertainment options.

Preservationists and entrepreneurs are talking about how to use old buildings as the basis of new development.  A previous redevelopment plans known as the Iron Quarter Project would have demolished seven warehouses built between 1852 and 1905 to make way for 110,000 square feet of offices and 120,000 square feet of retail; curtained by the economy and preservationists, the project now proposes incorporating old building facades into the design.

Other projects, such as City Center, are set to redevelop large sections of downtown, if tax abatements and financing are obtained.

While there are many projects on the drawing board, which fall to the Metro Council to approve and the public to debate, the new mayor will be cheerleader for further downtown Louisville development.  Given his entrepreneurial background, he is expected to be an innovator who will have interesting challenges ahead as he shapes downtown Louisville. 

Louisville!  What a city!  Mollie of Younger Group Real Estate can show you the best places to live!. We know Louisville!

Dear Santa,

Just a couple days till countdown for you, until you will be flying over Louisville and rest of the world.  Personally, I didn’t give you much of a list this year as I have been celebrating Christmas all year. I got married in Paris earlier this year, started a business, and am now awaiting the birth of my first child.  But there are a couple things….  I hope it’s into too late.

First, I just noticed the coolest iPhone app for Old Louisville.  Actually, it will work on an iPod or and an iPad too, but it has over 565 photos and references over 335 architectural sites.  Aside from being interesting to look at, the app gives a glimpse of the many events that happen in Old Louisville each year.  There’s a lot more to modern Louisville, but this app is priceless and a real steal at $1.99 on iTunes.

The other thing I want, Santa, may be out of your territory.  (I notice that you have been unable to deliver peace in earth in past years.)  Is there anything you can do about the Louisville housing market?

Sales have been steady for me, as I was able to match up many new homeowners with the home of their dreams.  But, Santa, we need some help.  Maybe you saw the recent article in our Courier-Journal that summed things up:

After the federal housing credit expired, our housing market is in a slump.  Median sales here in Louisville are up to $137,500 as compared to last year’s $132,500, but a Brooking Institution report notes that prices in 13 counties in Louisville and Southern Indian are down by 7.4%.  Prices are more affordable than they have been since the early 1970′s.  Yet, many sellers are having a hard time selling their homes, even if they lower the prices substantially.  The Greater Louisville Association of Realtors® reports that 26% fewer homes and condos were sold over the past 5 months as compared to the same period a year ago.  In Southern Indiana, it’s down by 36%

Buyers are having a hard time on several fronts.  Some sellers are ready to move up to bigger, more expensive homes but can hardly afford two mortgages.  So they wait on first-time buyers who just aren’t buying. Maybe, many likely buyers already bought to use the credit or maybe they are having trouble getting a mortgage,

I’m not sure if the North Pole was affected by our recent mortgage crisis, but banks have raised requirements to get a mortgage beyond the means of many people.  Our mortgage rates are “historically low,” according to the experts, but even FHA loans require hire credit scores than in the past.  Of course, we don’t want to repeat the past, where many unqualified buyers bit off more than they could chew, but the new policies don’t give anyone the benefit of the doubt. 

Of course, many of our potential buyers are unemployed or hovering on the brink of losing their job.  Unemployment is running about 10% in our area, so maybe you could being some more jobs to Louisville.  We are supposed to get some Ford jobs in 2012 and some Heartland Payment Systems next summer, but we need more options right now for the underemployed and unemployed right here, in Louisville.  By the way, are you hiring?

So Santa, what I am asking for are more qualified buyers.  If you play with my Old Louisville phone app before you give it to me, you’ll know what a great city we have here for homebuyers.  There is a lot to draw people to the city – the history, the Derby, galleries, college sports, the new YUM Center.  Now we just need for those folks to be able to buy a home here.

I’ve been a very good girl this year, Santa, so I hope you bring me what I want.  You would make not only me but many buyers sellers, and fellow agents very happy!

Your friend,

Mollie Younger

Younger Group Real Estate. We know Louisville!

P.S. – I am known for my baking skills, so perhaps some cookies and milk will encourage you to carefully consider my request.

Louisville homeowners, be aware. At a time when the federal deficit is high and economic advisors are searching for creative ways to balance the budget, the mortgage deduction is once again under scrutiny, as a possible deduction to eliminate. Since this deduction costs the government over $100 billion in taxes each year, the Mortgage Interest Deduction (MID) is like a big, brightly -wrapped package sitting under the Christmas tree – so inviting to grab first.  The Grinch, in this case President Obama’s Deficit Committee, is considering just that.

As currently written, the Mortgage Interest Deduction allows taxpayers who own their homes to reduce their taxable income by the interest paid on the loan which is secured by their principal residence or even a second home. For years, the mortgage deduction has been one economic benefit that encourages people to consider owning rather than renting.  The events of the last few years, which have led to falling housing prices and decreased home values, have weakened some of the arguments about home ownership being an investment, at least in the short run.  The MID is one tangible benefit to ownership that remains intact.

Critics of the MID advance several arguments, including these:

•        Wealthy citizens benefit more than the average homeowner.  The MID subsidizes those who can afford to pay more taxes and reduces government income.

•        The MID encourages people to buy more home than they can afford because the MID frees up income to spend on housing that might otherwise go to taxes.

•        When broken down by the month, the MID only saves people a few dollars a month, so people should save for a bigger downpayment and qualify for a lower payment that way.

•        Why should the government subsidize homeownership given the decreasing group of people who can qualify?  Are the old adages about homeowners producing more stable neighborhoods really true?

None of those arguments can be dismissed lightly, but it is also true that people like the deduction.  It does spur many people to buy a home.  Until a well-throughout proposal for tax reform is proposed, the Mortgage Interest Deduction should be left intact. 

Fight the housing Grinch.  If you are a Louisville homeowner, you can help save this deduction by calling your Representative to voice your concern and expressing to them how much Home Ownership Matters.  Ask them to defend the Mortgage Interest Deduction from any cuts or reduction as outlined in the Deficit Commission Report. 

Click on the graphic or on this link to place your call NOW! You will enter your cell phone number and receive a call back.  Make sure to tell your representative how important it is to you as homeowner to keep this deduction intact.

Most people buy some gifts for loved ones in December. After this hard year, this is a great time to exhibit some creativity in your gift giving and really make it one from the heart – and from Louisville.

Though the Mall of St. Matthews is busting with values for national chain retailers, Louisville residents can Give a Gift from Kentucky and support local artists. This Kentucky Crafted program, launched by Governor Steve Beshear, features gifts offered by artist-members of the Kentucky Arts Council who have a variety of jewelry, ornaments, pottery, prints, available for gift giving. Many of these artsy gift suggestions are included in the Kentucky gift guide.

If you want to offer your friends a sample of the many tastes of Louisville, there are many excellent ethnic shops that offer the ingredients to make unique baskets. You just need to decide what palate you want to create, buy an assortment of foods, and assemble them in a basket or even better in a pan or serving dish often used to prepare and present the food you are giving. Here is what you can do.

Suppose you want to go with Italian: Deli meats, sausages, cheese, homemade pasta, authentic spices all make for delicious basket from Lotsa Pasta on Lexington Road. Line your container, whether it be a basket or a hand painted pasta bowl, with some traditional red and white checked napkins and you’re all set. Want your gift to be more upscale? Add a bottle of wine. Make sure to shop hungry so you will have an excuse to order a delicious Italian sandwich to go.

What about Mexican? There are at least five Mexican markets, plus many other stores with Mexican selections, which offer the fresh vegetables, sausages, and sauces, plus the tortillas, tostadas, and desserts to make a delicious Mexican meal. Don’t forget to add a tortilla press and some Abuelita Chocolate . Can’t make it to Preston Highway or Third St. where several markets are located? Valu Market at 5301 Mitscher Ave also carries a good selection of Mexican, Asian, and other ethnic foods.

Whether you Asian tastes are stuck on Chinese or you like neighboring cuisines, Louisville offers the supplies to cook like a native:

• Chinese – Oriental Grocery, Bardstown Rd.

• Korean – Oriental Supermarket and Gift Shop on Gilmore Lane

• Indian – Shalimar on S. Hurstbourne Parkway.

• Filipino – Lanceta Oriental Food and Gifts, Breckinridge Lane

• Vietnamese – Binh Phuoc, Third St.

Louisville is also home to Russian, eastern European, and African markets. Louisville also has several restaurants that specialize in the cuisines, so you can even include a gift certificate to an area eatery that serves that type of food for inspiration before your gift recipient cracks open the basket.

Whether you want to buy a gift crafted by Louisville artisans or put together a basket of goodies found in stores here, you will have a gift to remember for people you want to remember.

For great Louisville real estate, contact Mollie Younger of Younger Group Real Estate. We know Louisville!

December, 2010 is upon us already!  This year has been a very eventful one in the world of real estate and for me personally; regardless of how the year has gone for you , I know you will want to end it on a joyful note. In Louisville, how better to do that than to enjoy the beauty of the city, awash in lights.

Perhaps you already got in the spirit of things during the 30th Annual Light Up Louisville celebration on Thanksgiving weekend, when a chain of events including the Run Run Rudolph 5K Walk,/Run, musical performances, and parades culminated in Santa’s arrival and the illumination of the 45 foot Christmas tree near the Metro Hall. This year’s tree was donated by Ben and Thelma Alley of Louisville, who nurtured the tree on their property on Southern Parkway for 26 years.

In keeping with Louisville’s green initiative, the main tree and 30 other trees in Jefferson Square Park are covered with LED lights. LG&E is donating the cost of operating the lighting exhibits to earn Green Energy Tags to support the growth of renewable energy.

Even if you missed the event, you should still visit downtown after dark and catch a glimpse of the magnificent tree. While you are getting your light-fix, don’t forget KaLightoscope Christmas at the Galt House Hotel.  Life-sized holiday sculptures with a Chinese flair are the main attraction, but there are also a life sized edible gingerbread village, Santa events, and Mistletoe Marketplace that offers unique gifts with a Louisville flair.  What gives KaLightoscope Christmas a different twist are the dinner show which incorporate light and song to create holiday magic.  Your choir, band, or choir can audition to participate in the show, as well as entertain shoppers at Mistletoe Marketplace.  Initial reports about this display indicate that it is spectacular. Over a year in the planning, KaLightoscope Christmas is expected to attract 75,000 visitors.

If seeing the lights is mainly a good reason to socialize and enjoy the best food and drink in Louisville, you will not want to miss the Holiday Lights Tour, the seasonal offering from City Taste Tours.  From December 10 through December 23, you can marvel at spectacular light displays in Downtown, Old Louisville, and Jeffersonville, Indiana, enjoy holiday music on your journey, and sample holiday treats at local restaurants on one of these 2 ½  hour tours.

For a festival similar to Light Up Louisville, be sure to visit Bardstown Road Aglow on December 4 from dusk till 10:00 pm.  Promoted as a neighborly festival for people of all faiths and backgrounds, the Bardstown Aglow is a festival held along the Bardstown Road –Baxter Avenue Corridor for the past 25 years.  Four Roses is sponsoring this year’s Holiday Bourbon Battle among local competing bars and restaurants; patrons are invited to sample the drinks and vote on them between November 27 and December 4, the day of the event.  Santa will turn up, as will strolling carolers, but many retailers, bars, and restaurants are offering specials in addition to the holiday entertainment.

End 2010 on a light and joyful note – enjoy the beautiful lighting displays around Louisville.

For great Louisville real estate, contact Mollie Younger of Younger Group Real Estate. We know Louisville!