good places to live

3 similar neighborhoods for any budget

by John Rice

What if you want a big lot, close in, something older, maybe Tates Creek Road area.  Well, you have three good options at 3 different price points.

All these neighborhoods are either just inside or just outside New Circle Road by Tates Creek Road.  All are close to things like The Lansdowne Shoppes, Malones, Fresh Market and The Signature Club.  One of the best things about this area is that you can get about anywhere in town easily.  UK/Downtown/Chevy Chase are close.  You are between Hamburg and all that the Fayette Mall/Nicholasville Road corridor offers…..plus, this is arguably the prettiest part of Lexington.

1.  Lansdowne

This is where you go if you have $300-700k to spend.  You’ll get one of the swankiest locations from the 1960s that use to be on the on the edge of town.  I’m taking about roads like Cahaba, Kirkland, Overbrook, etc.  Getting a half acre lot is no sweat here, some are even larger.  Overbrook Circle and Brookhill Circle are my two favorite streets since some of the houses have a view over The Lansdowne Shoppes.

Most of the houses are ranches, but there are 2 story and split foyer/split levels too.  Here is what is typical:

But sometimes you get lucky and find some real architectural gems like:

2.  Lans-Merrick

This is where you land if you want to stay in the $200s-$300s, although there are a few super nice ones that have gone for over $400k.  This neighborhood is right across Tates Creek Road from Lansdowne.   You get a great city park in the middle of the neighborhood which is right beside Julius Marks Elementary school.  Lots out here are usually in the 1/4-1/3 acre range.  Still big by Lexington standards.  Most of the houses were built in the 70s.  Lots of ranches, splits and traditional two stories.  The main roads are Pepperhill and Montavesta.  Fleetwood and Heritage are my favorite streets.

 

Here is what to expect:

But there are some that are like:

 

3.  Gainesway

This neighborhood is beside Lans-Merrick, but is just across New Circle.  It seems just as close in though, so don’t let being outside the circle mess with you.  The oldest part of Gainesway harks back to the 50s.  All the streets were named after local horse farms.  Getting a 1/4-1/2 acre lot is easy here.  Most are ranches.  The beauty of this neighborhood is that you get a similar location and lot size as the other two, but you’ll only drop $150-250k for a house.  Castleton Hill and Castleton Way are my favorite streets here.

This is what to expect:

And you might get lucky and find one like these:

 

So there you have it.  Whether you have $150k or well over $500k, you can enjoy an older home on a large lot in Lexington.

What makes a good location?

by John Rice

This week, I’ve been listening to several different buyers tell me what part of town they want to be in.  It has had me thinking about the whole “Location Location Location” thing.  I think most of the time, we as people like to reduce things down to a yes/no, for/against, good/bad scenario……Like this is a good location and this is a bad one.  I just don’t think it is that simple and here is why.

Just this week I’ve had two people tell me they really want to be in a location that many people avoid.  This is a high density area, so the buyers are looking for townhouses and condos.  See, the people that think this is an area to be avoided don’t want to be in that kind of density and are single family home types.  Both buyers mentioned that they had lived in that area before and liked how easy it was to get any where in town and that they enjoyed the 30+ acre park in the middle of the area.  When my wife and I were newlyweds, we lived in this area too…..we thought the same thing back then.

I guess my point in all this is that what makes a good location is really a subjective thing that varies greatly.  Age, income, property type, etc, all greatly have an impact on what makes a location appealing.  There is one common thing that all people tell me they want in a location:  Proximity to work, businesses they shop at, restaurants they eat at, and things like parks/sports/ or places they frequently go.  People with kids like to be in a good performing school district too.

Lexington is big enough to support all these different opinions about what makes a location good.  It is all in the eye of the buyer, and if enough of them think it is a good location, then it must be.

Neighborhoods that benefited the most from school district changes

by John Rice

I get a lot of questions about school districts and property values.  Most of the time there is nothing to worry about unless your neighborhood goes from having average/above average schools to getting ones that are worse.    A lateral move doesn’t really matter.  The best situation is when you have poorer performing schools and get better ones….which is the topic of today’s blog post.

Here are the top 3 winners in my opinion.  The biggest changes in the district boundaries were in the Hamburg/40509 area, so these are all out that way:

3.  The Home Place/Gleneagles.  The cat got out of the bag early on this one.  The school district bought land in this area and everybody knew that these 2 neighborhoods would go to the new school.  Suddenly it became a more desirable place to buy and prices went up.

2.  Greenbrier.  Several years ago I would get the same feedback from my buyers after showing houses in this neighborhood.  They would say “I love the neighborhood and all the space out here, but I don’t have $100k to renovate this house AND pay for private school.”  So, they wouldn’t buy it.  Now that “The Brier” is getting the new elementary and new high school, houses are selling and being renovated.

1.  Chilesburg.  Use to be only the first phase of that neighborhood went to Athens-Chilesburg Elementary (A.C.E.).  It never really made any sense since the school was right in the middle of the neighborhood.  The neighborhood got the school and prices have really gone up.  Use to be if you were in the mid $200k range and wanted that school, Andover Hills was your only option.  There use to be a big gap between similar sized houses in these two neighborhoods.  Not any more.  Chilesburg can pull the same money per sqaure foot as Andover Hills can now.  A 2500 square foot 4 bedroom house in Chilesburg use to be about $190-225k several years ago.  Practically the same floor plan in Andover Hills was getting $225-245k.  Now both are in the $245-255k range.

LEXington market trends

by John Rice

Ok, we all know there is a shortage of inventory and houses are selling fast….but there is more going on in this town than just that.

Here is what I am seeing in 2016:

  •  Waiting.  Lots of waiting in line to see a new listing it’s first day on the market.  Everybody is so focused on new listings.  Granted, you do want to see them before they sell, but I think there has been more of a shift in how the public gets listings.  Everybody has saved searches and gets alerts when there is a new listing.  If it doesn’t interest them at that very moment, they rarely will consider seeing it later.  They just wait for the next new listing.  That is bad news for sellers who don’t sell their houses immediately, and proof that starting out with the best presentation and the right list price is critical.
  • Not ALL houses are selling as fast as you would think.  Only the good ones are selling immediately.  In Fayette County, there are 555 houses for sale priced between $100k and $500k.  Of those, 152 have been on the market for more than 90 days.  That is almost 1/3 of the available houses.  Savvy buyers go back and look at those 152 to see if they can get it for cheaper and avoid the multiple offer frenzy.
  • New construction on the edge of town isn’t doing so well.  I think Lexington is finally big enough that people see a big difference between being closer in town and on the edge of town.  I am seeing more and more people wanting to be closer in to town….heck, I feel that urge too since I live just past Hamburg and am always stuck in traffic.  One of the most successful new construction neighborhoods has been Summerfield.  I think it is about location more than anything.  You are 10 minutes from downtown and 5 minutes to Hamburg.  The best of both worlds really.
  • Smaller ranch houses in nice neighborhoods are getting amazing money.  I’m seeing 1200-1400 square foot houses getting close to $170k in neighborhoods like Cooper Trace, Ashbrooke, Wyndham Hills, Wyndham Downs and Harrods Point.
  •   Lots of people retiring in Lexington…..even Clint Eastwood is moving here, if you believe everything you see on Facebook 😉  An area super popular with retirees is Brookhaven and Lansdowne.  There are lots of nice ranches on good lots in this area.  You are close to downtown, can hop on New Circle at Tates Creek and go anywhere, cut across roads like Regency, Larkin, Zandale or Reynolds to get to anything on Nicholasville Road.  Plus you have cool places like The Lansdowne Club, Lansdowne Shoppes and are 1o minutes to Chevy Chase.

It sure will be interesting to see what comes for the rest of this year.  I am hearing from other realtors that they are having a hard time getting on a photographer’s schedule.  That either means we have a lot of new listings about to hit the market or realtors are just really impatient to get a house on the market!

 

LEXpert’s top picks for around $350k

by John Rice

At the bottom of the market just a few years ago, it seemed like $350k was a HUGE budget.  It still gets you a very nice house, but most of the popular choices like Firebrook, Palomar, Hartland, Andover Forest and Chevy Chase are now well over $400k for a fairly updated home.

Here are a few neighborhoods that I always like to make sure my $350k buyers are aware of:

Dogwood Hills-This is an 80’s neighborhood with large traditional houses located out Harrodsburg Road across from Firebrook.  I’ve always described Dogwood Hills as upscale but not pretentious.  It just has a comfortable, cozy vibe to it that I have always found appealing.   You’ve got a great southwest Lexington location, there is a shopping center with a Kroger right next door, and you have a great city park in the back of the neighborhood.

Rabbit Run-This is a late 80s/early 90s neighborhood.  I am taking about Wellington Lane, part of Wellington Way, Meadowbrook Drive, Meadowbrook Court, Comanche Trail, Comanche Court, Blenheim Way and Blenheim Court.  Rabbit Run does have a section of medium sized houses on small lots.  There is also an adjoining neighborhood whose real name is Saint Stephen’s Green at Rabbit Run….but most people call it all Rabbit Run these days.  Now that I have cleared up all that, what do I like about it?  Like Dogwood Hills, it does have that cozy, comfortable upscale vibe to it.  I think it’s best feature is the location.  It is right in the middle of everything you want on the southwest end of Lexington.  Both Man O War and New Circle Road are minutes away.  You can sneak in the back way to get to Fayette Mall without ever being on Nicholasville Road.  You have all the great things that Harrodsburg Road offers very close, such as the YMCA, library, restaurants, gym, grocery stores…even a hardware store.

Lansdowne-This neighborhood has become very trendy.  $350k doesn’t go as far as it use to here.  What makes it special is that you get a mid-century neighborhood with large lots inside New Circle Road and close to UK, downtown and Chevy Chase.  You can also get to about anything on Nicholasville Road by taking one of the side streets like Zandale, Malabu or Reynolds Road.  A popular spot for many residents is the Signature Club.  It has a great swimming pool.  You can enjoy the club even if you are not a member and dine in “The Cellar.”  As if this location was not ideal enough, you are very close to The Lansdowne Shoppes which has several amazing businesses such as The Fresh Market (One of my favorite grocery stores-great sushi!)

Stonewall-This is my default suggestion when people tell me they want a safe neighborhood with good performing schools and they want a huge yard in south Lexington.  I guess it is my default because it is about the only neighborhood that meets all that criteria.  Stonewall is a 1960s neighborhood that use to be just outside of Lexington.  Just beyond Stonewall is a 70s neighborhood called Grasmere.  Some people think Grasmere is part of Stonewall, but it isn’t.  Grasmere has a similar feel to it, although the lots are a little smaller and the houses are about 10 years newer.  It is a little cheaper too.  When Stonewall won’t fit in your budget, look in Grasmere.  Stonewall is right off Clays Mill Road just outside of New Circle.  It is just a few minutes away from Rabbit Run, so you get all the same location perks.