Looking for a Home in Lexington this Weekend (Nicholasville, Franklin: sales, real estate)

[chattavegas1]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks in advance for your response.

My wife and I are in our late 20s and have a 5 month old child. My wife will be working at the University of Kentucky. I will hopefully either work there or else downtown. We are going to be in Lexington this weekend primarily for the purpose of looking at areas to live, and would like advice on where we should look.

Some initial parameters:

--We want to have a short commute, i.e, no more than 15 minutes in the worst of traffic, ideally less than 10
--We need a home or town home with at least a small yard, as we have 2 smaller dogs that are used to a fenced-in yard
--If we buy, we probably would have to purchase a home with a purchase price of less than $250,000
--We don't care about a new home versus an old home, so long as the old home is not in need of major renovations
--if I had to choose between a bigger house for the money and one that looks better or had newer amenities, I would choose the bigger house, as we plan on expanding our family in the next few years and hope to have plenty of family in town to visit
--We are ambivalent as to schools for our child, since we are likely to only live here for 3-4 years
--safety in the area that we live will be important
--a nice neighborhood or a fun area around a university (for example, I've heard that the area around Transylvania is nice) or mini-town center (like Franklin, TN or Homewood, AL) would be great, but it is not a priority, especially if it makes the commute too long

Again, any thoughts or advice will be appreciated.

[LEXpert]

I would stick between Nicholasville Rd and Alumni Dr out to New Circle. This area is close, has good schools, and good sized houses in your price range.

[lunasebastian]

I would suggest Masterson Station. It is a residential cmmunity off of Leestown road. It is less than fifteen minutes away from the UK Campus. A 3br. 3 ba. home can be bought in Masterson Station for about 160,000. The neighborhood is very child friendly, and there is a small playground down the street from the Masterson Station clubhouse. Crime is practically unheard of in Masterson Station for the most part. I raised five of my seven children there, and we all enjoyed it. Hope I helped! If you need any more information, just ask!

[timelesschild]

I agree with LEXpert.

[chattavegas1]

I appreciate everyone's responses so far.

I've also heard good things about Chevy Chase and the Lakeview area. I can imagine that the Lakeview area may be too pricey, but if not, what is the reputation of those two areas?

Thanks,

[timelesschild]

Chevy Chase and Lakeview both have good reputations. The schools are good, and the property will hold its value. You are going to have a very difficult time finding a house in your pricerange, however.

[chattavegas1]

While we are on the topic of property holding its value, what are you all seeing in terms of property values in this area of Lexington? How much have home values declined in the past couple of years, and is there any buying activity, or is the market pretty stagnant?

In Chattanooga, for example, home values haven't declined alot, but noone is buying. I'm guessing that many people are buying foreclosed properties since your average seller isn't willing to drop his or her price enough to compete with the foreclosures. Ultimately, then, the sellers in the worst condition end up defaulting and their homes are added to the foreclosure market, thereby continuing the cycle.

Your thoughts are again appreciated.

[LEXpert]

The market here is stable. The number of sales declined between 2007 and 2008, but it is supply and demand that homeowner's need to be concerned about more than the number of sales. As long as supply and demand are in balance, houses will hold their value even if there is a decline in the number of sales. I have more details on my blog. Here is a link, I think it is okay to post since I am not trying to solicit your business: Putting the “Real” in Lexington Real Estate

Some areas have seen a small decline in value. Most have not. The areas that were the wise buys in a hot market are the ones that survive well in a slow market. Also, the houses that show well are still moving quickly. The ones that are in trouble are in 2nd choice areas AND don't show good. Overall, prices have been about the same since 2005. The market has really picked up this year so far. Every agent I know is busy. I think there were a lot of people on the fence last year that are now making a decision to buy.

[chattavegas1]

Thanks for the information, LEXpert. Compared to Chattanooga, homes in Lexington appear to be much more affordable. It looks like there are multiple homes that are in the areas that you all have recommended that are 8 years old or less, 2500 sq ft or more and cost about $200,000, or approx. $80/sq ft. In Chattanooga, if you want to have a yard and a garage and a relatively new home, you are going to have to pay approx. $100/sq ft and have at least a 15-20 minute commute.

Back to the topic of places to look, what is the reputation of Southland and Stonewall (which may be outside of my desired 10-15 minute commute maximum)?

Thanks again.

[LEXpert]

Stonewall is very popular since the lots are so big and it has a great school district. It isn't that long of a drive to UK, just a congested one. I think Stonewall would be a great pick. I think the houses around Southland Drive may be a little too small for you. Most of those are under 2000 sq ft (unless they have a finished basement.) I really think you could look just about anywhere inside New Circle Road and it woundn't be more than 15 minutes to UK.

I just did a quick search on lbar and it looks like there are 6 houses that are close to UK with fairly good schools. They are in Tahoma Terrace (Really close to UK), Stonewall, Lansdowne, Lans-Merrick, Brookhaven and Gardenside. I would rank them in that order too for being a good mix of what you mentioned you want and for holding value.