While homebuilders across the country are reeling from their worst sales month since 1981, sales of new Louisville homes remain strong according to members of the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors. Nationally, new home sales fell 33 percent in May to their lowest level since 1961, when the recording of sales of newly built homes started. Louisville realtors say that sales of new Louisville homes have seen a steady rise since last summer. Sales were up 46 percent in May 2010 from the previous May and rose 21 percent above April’s new home sales. After taking a wait-and-see attitude for the last couple of years to see how the national economy would affect sales of new Louisville homes, homebuilders in the Louisville area are building again, confident that these homes will sell. Chuck Kavanaugh of the Home Builders Association of Louisville cautioned that the numbers of new homes built in Louisville are “nowhere near where they were three or four years ago.” However, he also said that building permits for residential construction are up 16 percent thus far this year in Jefferson, Oldham, Bullitt, Shelby and Spencer counties. However, while the Louisville real estate market shows modest gains, most housing markets across the country continue to struggle. The recession, massive unemployment, foreclosures and many other factors have created a “prefect storm” of bad news for home sales nearly everywhere else. “We all knew there would be a housing hangover from the expiration of the tax credit,” a real estate and interest rate analyst at Weiss Research said of the national figures. “But this decline takes your breath away.” If you’re thinking about buying a new or existing Louisville home or considering selling Louisville real estate, call 502.744.9504 today. Louisville Properties has the area’s best selection of residential and commercial real estate and offers discount brokerage, property management, flat-fee MLS listings and many other services.