Mortgage lenders, brokers and real estate analysts have been forecasting for months that mortgage rates would be heading up soon. The only cause of disagreement was how much they would increase. However, months after predicting rate hikes, mortgage rates have actually dropped one-half of a percentage point and are near record lows. As of August 2010, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was...

Louisville suburb Windy Hills and some nearby towns are redefining themselves and drawing attention to some of their historic Louisville-area homes with new signage, a brochure and a look back at some early settlers of the area. Signage along Brownsboro Road and other Windy Hills thoroughfares now read 'Windy Hills -- City of Historic Homes.' The city is now working on a brochure that will note the...

Real estate investment giant Prudential Real Estate Investors is predicting that the struggling commercial real estate market in the country will recover much more quickly than during a similar downturn in the 1990s. Prudential said they are "relatively optimistic" about a faster turnaround for hotels, apartment buildings, retail space and office buildings. "Last time it took five years for real estate...

The National Association of Realtors claims that uncertainties about a federal flood insurance program and delays in mortgage applications contributed to the dip in existing home sales in May. The association reported that there were 5.66 million existing home sales across the country in May, down from April's 5.79 million and far short of analysts' estimates of 6.12 million. While the numbers...

Foreclosures, job losses, the economic downturn, employment insecurity and other factors are affecting homeownership across the country according to recent data from the Census Bureau. The Bureau reports that as of late 2009, the homeownership rate has dropped from a high of 69 percent in 2006 to around 67 percent. However, another report on homeownership issued by the New York Federal Reserve Bank claims...

Louisville realtors sold 1,477 homes and condominiums in June, which represented a year-over-year increase of 26 percent from the previous June. Greater Louisville Association of Realtors members said that the jump was largely due to people taking advantage of the expiring federal tax credit for first-time homeowners and current homeowners wanting to buy roomier, more expensive homes. The jump in...

A government oversight official recently told a Senate panel that President Obama's program to help troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure is not working and that Treasury Department officials have failed to fix the program's shortcomings. Neil Barofsky, Special Inspector General for the financial bailouts, told members of the Senate Finance Committee that the Treasury Department has ignored demands to...

After decades of serving breakfast, lunch and dinner to hungry Louisville residents, Masterson's Food & Drink in Old Louisville closed recently, and the building will be razed to make room for a large Louisville commercial real estate project. Located for more than 50 years at Third Street and Cardinal Boulevard, Masterson's is the future site for a four-story retail and apartment complex, which will...

People who are thinking about buying a home or refinancing a mortgage right now know that it is tough to get lenders to work with them whether they have an excellent credit rating and credit history or not. No matter how many hoops they must jump through to satisfy mortgage lenders, it is definitely in borrowers' best interests to endure the paper chase as mortgage interest rates are at near-historic lows...

Many people who own investment real estate in the Louisville area face the same dilemma: manage the properties themselves or hire a professional Louisville property management company. Neither is better than the other is; it really boils down to the property owner's situation. Nevertheless, if you're a Louisville income property owner who lives outside the Louisville area and has no plans to move here,...