Here’s a few snapshots of the metropolitan area:

In Scott County (for reference: Georgetown KY being one of the major cities), new home permits issued were 768 in 2005.  Only 446 were issued in 2007.  And for 2008 only 184 have been issued for the first 6 months of this year.

In Woodford County (for reference: Versailles KY being one of the major cities), new home permits issued were 154 in 2005.  Only 165 were issued in 2007.  And for 2008 only 52 have been issued for the first 6 months of this year.

In Jessamine County (for reference: Nicholasville KY being on of the major cities), new home permits issued were 643 in 2005.  Only 307 were issued in 2007.  And for 2008 only 90 have been issued for the first 6 months of this year.

In Bourbon County (for reference: Paris KY being one of the major cities), new home permits issued were 54 in 2005.  Only 46 were issued in 2007.  And for 2008 only 19 have been issued for the first 6 months of the year.

Which brings us to Fayette County and Lexington.  New home permits for 2005 were 2469.  Only 1235 were issued in 2007.  And from January 1 through August 30 2008, 534 new home permits were issued.

So, what does this mean for the Lexington real estate market?  It means that the pain isn’t over.  The inventory currently on the market has been moving slowly.  There are just simply not enough buyers to go around, so if you need to get your home sold ASAP, you are going to have offer the property for lower than you’d probably like to get it sold.

But what about the $700 billion bailout rescue plan?  Won’t that help ease the credit crunch by providing banks and lenders some more liquidity?  Well, sort of.  Lets put you into the banker’s position.  The stock market is reeling (it dropped to below 8000 today, and has lost almost 40% of its value in the past year).  Banks are failing.  People are losing their jobs.  Homes are going into foreclosure.   Inventory is WAY up on homes for sale….. Now, do you want to lend some money to someone in that market unless you are WAY over collateralized?  Probably not.  And there you see the dilemna.  Even with this “rescue” plan, it will take a long time before things get back to normal in the real estate market.  So, if you are wanting to get your home sold – you better plan on doing what it takes.  Or you could be waiting for a very long time.

New Lexington Homes For Sale Decline is a post from: Lexington Kentucky Real Estate

The current financial picture for Georgetown KY is expected revenue of approximately $20.6 million, but it has projected costs of $22.6 million – a shortfall of $2 million.  So, they need to raise additional money (or cut expenses), to address the problem.

The city council members have been discussing an increase in payroll taxes of 0.1% – 0.2%, but Mayor Karen Tingle-Sames is going to recommend a 0.5% increase.  This would result in Georgetown Kentucky city residents in paying a payroll tax of 3%, while non-residents would pay 2.5%.  [Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky employs 7000 persons - of which, roughly 2/3 live outside of Georgetown.]

To give an example:  if a person earned $50,000 annually, they would have a potential additional tax consequence of $250 per year.

Georgetown KY Considers Payroll Tax Increase is a post from: Lexington Kentucky Real Estate

Some of the expansion projects include a new terminal building, as well as a runway ramp addition.

The contractor hasn’t been decided at this point in time. Bidding is set to let for this month March 2008, and the actual construction is set to start some time in the middle of the year 2008. There is no expectation that the construction will interfere with any of the Georgetown KY airport’s regularly scheduled flights or operations.

The World Equestrian Games in 2010 is expected to bring 200 more flights to the Lexington Kentucky area – and 60 of those daily flights are expected to go to the Georgetown Kentucky airport.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The airport is not prepared to deal with flights that may be carrying horses planning on coming to the WEG.

The location of the airport is approximately 10 miles from the Kentucky Horse Park.

The proximity of the Georgetown KY airport makes it an attractive option to those that may be concerned about the traffic surrounding the Lexington Kentucky airport.

Georgetown Kentucky Airport to begin $4 million expansion is a post from: Lexington Kentucky Real Estate

What led to the unfortunate accident is at approximately 7:00 in the morning, 6 yearlings were being moved from their paddock to the barn.  Something startled the horses, and 5 of them ran through the gate and down the road toward Mount Horeb Pike – with 4 ending up in the accident.  1 of the horses died instantly.  3 were euthanized on site.

Lanes End President Bill Farish did not disclose the sires or dams of the young horses, but he did admit that the horses belonged to Lanes End and their clients.

While it is unfortunate anytime there is an accident, this one is particularly unsettling.  Lanes End Farm’s inventory of world class thoroughbred stallions is highly touted as one of the best in the entire world.  Just some of the horses in their portfolio include former Horse of the Year: A.P. Indy whose stud fee is $300000.  They also have Kingmambo with a stud fee of $250000, and Smart Strike (sire of Horse of the Year Curlin) whose fee is $150000.  The quality of the 4 yearlings that were lost is likely some of the best in the thoroughbred industry and it is a shame to have lost that stock in the gene pool for this year’s crop of yearlings.

Lexington KY Farms Accident Kills 4 Horses is a post from: Lexington Kentucky Real Estate

Some highlights of the new Toyota Venza include:

2.7 liter 4 cylinder or 3.5 liter V-6

6 speed sequential shift automatic transmissions

Seating Capacity will be 5

Toyota has invested $350 million to retool the plant to accommodate the new production of the Venza at the Georgetown KY facility.  The V-6 will be the first models to be built, with the 4 cylinder to be offered later next year.  The car is based on the Camry base and is being touted as a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) crossover.  It officially has a 3500 lb towing capacity.

Fuel efficiency or pricing for the Venza have not been released at this point – but Toyota hopes to do sales of 100000 annually. [Toyota is predicting 75000 sales for 2009.]

It will come standard with front wheel drive – but all wheel drive will be an option available.  It will be the first time that they Georgetown Kentucky Toyota Plant will have assembled all wheel drive components for their vehicles.  They intend to produce the Cmary, Camry Hybrid, and the Venza all on the same production line in November.

This is just 1 example of why its a great time to own one of the homes for sale in Georgetown KY.  Job growth with good paying jobs are one of the key economic indicators for a community.  The Georgetown KY real estate market would potentially be a good opportunity for someone to enjoy living in a smaller community while being close to some of the larger features offered in a big town since Lexington KY is a very short distance away.

Georgetown KY Toyota Plant is a post from: Lexington Kentucky Real Estate

Nearly all of the cases were in Fayette County (204 were for Lexington).  The next closest was Scott County at 4 filings.

These numbers are approximately 1 foreclosure filing for every 919 households in the 6 county area:

Bourbon County

Clark County

Fayette County

Jessamine County

Scott County

Woodford County

These recent filings put Lexington Kentucky in the dubious honor of being in the top 100 foreclosure rankings for the United State’s largest metropolitan areas.  This is a point of concern for many persons, as Lexington doesn’t have sufficient population to warrant such tainted recognition.

Here’s how some nearby other communities rated:

Dayton Ohio – 17th – 1 filing per 314 households

Columbus Ohio – 23rd – 1 filing per 104 households

Indianapolis Indiana – 24th – 1 filing per 109 households

Cincinnati Ohio – 30th – 1 filing per 145 households

Louisville Kentucky – 66th – 1 filing per 314 households

Knoxville Tennessee – 72nd – 1 filing per 426 households

Hopefully the mortgage industry can help clean up its own situation where they allowed persons with marginal credit worthiness to qualify for homes with loan terms that they wouldn’t be able to afford unless the housing industry remained strong.   Things like 1 year balloon ARMs, stated incomes, and the like created an artificial market that worked fine, unless the real estate and homes appreciations started to slow or even decline, and then it caused the persons that were relying on building equity in a property by using its appreciation – to end up getting into a negative equity position on a property.

Lexington Kentucky Foreclosures Filed at Record High is a post from: Lexington Kentucky Real Estate