One of the most striking statistics in the report is that 54% of the market is seeking primary housing, up from 38% just a year ago. Additionally, 53% of respondents with household incomes over $100,000/year believe we have already reached the bottom of the market.

I think there's some truth to this on a macro level. My concern in the short term for Central Kentucky/Lexington, Kentucky real estate market is that there will be a record number of distressed properties sold at Master Commissioner's sale this year due to the hold backs from the larger banks. According to Fayette County Master Commissioner James Frazier III, even though the number of new properties going into foreclosure appears to be going down, the backlog of properties that will be released onto the market this year will set records in Lexington for foreclosure sales of homes and commercial properties.

Will the developing recovery be strong enough to override the market pressure from the foreclosure sales? I think it's too early to say for 2012, but I'm interested in hearing your opinion.

Now some agents think any staging (even bad) is better than no staging at all, and while there's probably a vein of truth in that, there are definitely some silly staging tricks I've either seen in use or heard about in homes for sale in Lexington, KY and the following blog post will cover some of the silliest I've heard of.

The first one I haven't seen personally but have heard about and that is displaying pictures of people who are good looking in your house as opposed to the "normal-looking" people who actually live there. Some sellers leave the manufacturer's phots in the frames or even post photos of celebrities around a room to lead the buyers to dream about the posh, perfect lifestyle the current owners live and thus, by association, they will live if they buy the house. The problem is, buyers are too smart for this and see it as the ploy it is. You're better off finding some decent art to use in the staging of your home that plays up your home's strong points rather than pretending to be a cast member from "The Bold and the Beautiful".

The next silly idea I've heard is either putting flower petals in the master bathtub or tinting the water to match the decor. Buyers know you don't actually live this way and it gives a feeling of the home being too staged (and yes, there is a thing such as being "too staged"). A well staged home should never broadcast that it's been staged -- it should simply look like well organized people with good taste happen to live in the home. That's the kind of lifestyle that people aspire to and respond to when touring staged homes -- not the over-the-top, fake stuff that's obviously "done" (kind of like a facelift -- you don't want people to know you've had your house worked on, lol).

The final silly staging idea that I've seen several stagers use is that of using a card table with a sheet over it as a dining room table. This just screams "cheap and tacky" to me and it doesn't help you accomplish your utlimate goal, which is to present the house as illustrating the lifestyle that people aspire to -- do you want to come home each night and eat dinner on a card table? Besides looking cheap, it really doesn't give people a true idea of scale, which is another goal of staging. Better off scouring Craigslist or Goodwill for a nice breakfast set that may need a coat of paint (I've used several oak pedastal tables in the past, painted either dark brown or black and they looked positively elegent by the time I was finished with them. Add some chairs I also picked up on Craigslist and maybe a floral arrangement and voila -- you have a well staged dining room.

If you have any questions about staging your home for sale or about the real estate market in Lexington, KY, just comment below or email me from my website, www.LexingtonRealEstateSource.com.

Being Impressed With the Decor

Those of you who know me know that one of the things I specialize in is helping sellers 'stage' their homes for sale, that is, decorate their homes so the decor will be pleasing to a wide array of buyers. Does it work? You betcha. Studies show that homes that are staged sell in as little as a third of the time, on average, as non-staged homes and for up to 15% more.

Why does it work? Because most buyers lack imagination and get caught up in the current furnishings in home. If the current furniture/accessories look hip and luxurious, buyers assume that's the kind of lifestyle they'll lead when they move into the home. The problem with this line of thinking is that when the current owner moves, all of their stuff is going with them and unless your own possessions are also hip and luxurious (and fit well within the space) you'll end up with just a slightly different version of your current home/apartment because that's the 'stuff' you'll be bringing to your new home.

When you're trying to decide if a home will work for you and your family, pay the most attention to the location, floor plan and square footage. Decor choices are very personal and can easily be changed, so try not to let the seller's decor influence your decision. Imagine what your current sofa will look like in the living room and whether your current bedroom suite will fit in the bedroom. If the paint and/or appliances are not your taste, try to imagine what the house would look like with new colors and new appliances. You can't change the location of a house and changing the layout is a major undertaking, but changing relatively small things like paint, fixtures and appliances can do a lot to update a home on a modest budget and may enable you to get a really good deal on a house that other buyers who aren't using their imaginations will pass over.

Ignoring the Neighborhood

There's an old maxim in real estate that the 3 most important things are location, location and location, and there's a lot of truth to that old saying. But sometimes buyers get so wowed by a house (especially if it's well staged) that they're tempted to skip one of the most important aspects that will determine whether you'll be happy in your new home -- assessing whether the neighborhood fits your needs.

If you're seriously considering making an offer on a home, you not only need to see the house a couple of times, but you also want to visit the neighborhood at different times to get a feel for whether it will be a good fit for you. Visit around 6pm in the evening to see how crowded the street gets once everyone's home from work. Drive through at 9pm on a Saturday night to see if it's a "party" neighborhood that will keep you up until 3am every weekend. And, if you can, go to one of the neighborhood's association meetings (if the area has one) to get an idea of any major problems that may be facing the neighborhood and also to get a better feel for what your neighbors would be like.

If you have children, you'll also want to make sure the schools are the ones you're expecting them to be. In some houses for sale in Lexington, KY, one elementary or middle school may be geographically closest to the house you're considering but the zoning for that house specifies that your children would actually attend a different school. Of course, redistricting does sometime happen, but you want to do your best to help ensure your children are attending a school you're comfortable with, so check with your agent to find out the current school district before you put in that offer.

Buying the Nicest House on the Block

Some people get a kick out of knowing they have the nicest home on the block, but the truth is, if the home you're considering is the biggest/nicest on the block, you may be getting a bad deal.

When an appraiser or real estate agent works to assess the market value of a home, the most significant factor affecting the home's assessed value will be the selling prices of other houses in the neighborhood and if other houses aren't selling for nearly what your prospective house is selling for, you may want to rethink that purchase.

Homes are more than just homes -- they're also one of the most significant investments people will make in their lifetimes, so you need to think of your new home from an investment standpoint as well. If you buy a $200,000 house in a neighborhood full of $150,000 houses, the lower value of the surrounding houses will likely drag down the value of your home over time whereas if you bought the one $150,000 house in a neighborhood full of $200,000 houses, the more expensive houses would pull the value of your home up.

These are some of the most common mistakes I see when working with buyers out there and I hope by reading this post, I've helped some of my readers avoid an expensive mistake.

If you have any questions about buying homes in Lexington, KY or the surrounding area or if you'd like to know more about the home-buying process in general, don't hesitate to call or email me (click on the contact link at the top of the page or call the number right below my picture.)

The key to figuring out which projects are necessary and which are superfluous is this recommendation: keep up with the Jones' but don't surpass them. In other words, know which improvements have become more or less standard in your neighborhood and which ones would be considered overkill. Keep in mind, if you're just remodeling so you can enjoy your home more while you're living there and you feel you'll get a lot of use out of a new pool or hot tub, that's great, but don't expect those improvements to pay for themselves when you go to sell (in Kentucky, pools are sometimes seen as liabilities rather than assets and hot tubs are, nationally, one of the lowest return-on-investment improvements you can make).

How can you determine which improvements are typical for your neighborhood? Well, a real estate agent with experience in home staging can often help you with this (I was one of the first certified home stagers in Lexington), but if you'd like to perform your own research, go to neighborhood open houses or if you live in a newer neighborhood, get a few ideas from the model home in your neighborhood (model homes often have a few more upgrades than the average house in the neighborhood, so you may not want to incorporate every single upgrade you see -- just take note of the most noticable upgrades).

So which specific improvements will yield the highest return on investment? Let's start with number one: declutter.

Decluttering can be a difficult task to perform without input from an expert because it's difficult for homeowners (even me) to view our homes objectively and determine which items are perceived as extra, in-the-way pieces that will make your house seem cramped (hint: open and airy sells houses).

As a rule of thumb, you can generally count on removing approximately 1/3 of all your furnishings/decorative accessories to pare down your possessions to where they need to be to come across as well staged. Try to keep 3 feet of walkway between the main pieces of furniture in your family/living/bedrooms because you usually have at least two people walking side by side and the fewer places buyers and agents have to "squeeze" through to navigate your house, the better. (One of my pet peeves when it comes to arranging furniture in a house -- large pieces sitting at a diagonal in the corner. Unless you have a large room to work with, placing furniture in the corner just eats up tons of space and makes the room feel much smaller.)

As for decorative accessories, remove any and all personal photos, no matter how precious they are to you. The last thing you want is for sellers to spend time sitting staring at your personal pictures and wondering where your honeymoon was spent as opposed to spending their time focusing on the great features your house has to offer. And put the kabash on anything too flowery or feminine -- this may suit your taste, but it won't suit the taste of many buyers and it can pigeonhole your house as a "grandma house", which means many younger buyers won't be able to see themselves living there.

The second inexpensive improvement you can make is paint. Next to decluttering, paint is by far the cheapest way to make the largest impact on the appearance of a home's interior.

By now, you've probably heard the mantra that neutral colors are the way to go, but don't confuse neutral with hospital white, which reads cold and uninviting. Instead, think warm, soft tones like taupes, soft greens and golden tans, which add warmth to a room and update the feel of the interior while still enabling buyers with a wide variety of furnishing to imagine their things in your house. If you have white woodwork, you want your wall color to have just enough punch to it to contrast and play up your woodwork, but leave the reds, purples, pinks and bright blues to those who aren't selling their houses anytime soon.

Note how much bigger the room below looks after some painting and decluttering (along with a few new accessories and refurbished chairs from Goodwill). (Article continues below photos.)

The next low-cost improvement you can make is to rip up carpet if there are hard wood floors underneath. Even if the hardwoods aren't in perfect condition, they'll still give the rooms a more updated air than old, shabby carpet will and pulling up carpet is a relatively easy do-it-yourself task. (I've done it, so I'm sure you can too!)

If you're not lucky enough to have hardwood underneath your carpets, carpet, laminate and tile are all lower-cost options, with carpet usually being the cheapest (but never, ever put carpet in a bathroom!). When choosing carpet, go with something in the beige and/or tan family, which tend to hide dirt fairly well but also go with virtually any decor. Avoid grays and strong colors -- remember, we're trying to appeal to the widest array of buyers and Wildcat blue carpet, while it may be appreciated by some die-hard UK fans, won't likely win you any points with the majority of buyers who are worried whether their sofa or beds will blend with that carpet.

If you're just going to sell the house anyway, don't go for the highest grade carpet unless you're in a high-end neighborhood. If you get a decent pad, most people can't tell the difference between mid-grade and luxury-grade and occasionally you can even make low-end carpet work, though you may want to get the input of a realtor/home stager to let you know whether the one you're considering is a popular choice among current buyers.

The next low-cost improvement you can make is updating the lighting fixtures in your house. You can have the greatest paint colors in the world and fantastic, pared down furnishings, but if the light fixture in a room is circa 1985, the whole room will suffer.

You don't have to spend big bucks on your lighting fixtures either -- 2 bulb, flushmount fixtures in bronze or brushed nickel are usually sufficient for many rooms (no need for ceiling fans in most bedrooms, though if your master bedroom has a vaulted/tray ceiling, an updated celing fan can look quite nice) and at my local Lowes, you can usually get 2 such fixtures in a package for $20.

To keep costs down, consider hanging light fixtures yourself (or with the help of a handy friend) instead of hiring an electrician. Believe it or not, hanging light fixtures is actually pretty easy (black wire goes with black, red or white wire goes with the same color and the grounding wire goes with the grounding wire) just make SURE you turn off the breaker for the circuit you're working on. (Hanging a new celing fan can be a do-it-yourself project as well, though it's a little more difficult because you have to weight and balance the fixture so it rotates smoothly.)

And last, but certainly not least, is curb appeal, which is your buyer's first impression of the house. If you don't have strong curb appeal, you have a lot to overcome when the prospective buyer enters your house and there's no need putting that kind of pressure on yourself when improving your curb appeal can usually be done in a weekend.

Start by trimming all bushes, weeding plant beds and planting fresh flowers (or strategically placing potted plants if appropriate). Paint the front door so it looks fresh and new (realtors and buyers will spend up to 30 seconds or more standing in front of your door while the agent unlocks the lockbox and opens the door) and it's a quick and easy update. Just make sure you use a semi-gloss or gloss paint on your front door -- it holds up better under use and is easier to wipe down when you get fingerprints and other smudges on it).

Other curb appeal pointers include making sure you keep your grass trimmed and ensuring all the hardware on the front of your house matches (front light, door knob, mail slot and kick plate if there is one). If they don't, you can probably make some use out of a can of spray paint to make them all a uniform finish and give the area a cohesive appearance.

It can also be helpful to have some type of welcoming, seasonal display in the front of the house if there's room. Two of the houses of mine that have sold the fastest (both sold in 2 weeks for full price) were homes I had on the market in late fall/early winter and I was able to put a creative display of pumpkins, winter vegetables, indian corn and a little hay onto the front porch, which presented a very warm and polished first impression. Buyers were wowed from the get-go and we ended up getting multiple offers on both houses (yes, even in this tough buyer's market) and the sellers were thrilled.

If you have any questions about which specific improvements and whether they would likely pay off when preparing homes for sale in Lexington, KY, or elsewhere in the country, don't hesitate to contact me -- I'm always happy to help in any way I can.

It's called a Mortgage Credit Certificate program and it's administered through Kentucky Housing Corporation. I used a mortgage credit certificate when i bought my first home 10 years ago and just this year they've reenacted the program to give 1st-time buyers even more incentive to get out there and snap up those bargain properties.

Here's how it works: a Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) allows you to convert 25% of your mortgage interest deduction to a non-refundable tax credit for a maximum amount of $2000 per year. What this mean is that normally, you would get a "deduction" for the interest you paid on your mortgage (an offset against income) but this program enables you to get 25% of the interest you pay back on a dollar-for-dollar basis until you reach a maximum of $2000.

Let's say, for example, you buy a home this year and your montly payment is $1,000. Now, the majority of a loan payment in the beginning of a loan goes towards interest, not principle. For simplicity's sake, let's just say $800 of that $1000 you're paying each month is interest on your loan. So, at the end of the year, you've paid a whopping $9600 in interest! With an MCC, you'd be entitled to get a rebate for 25% of that (for a maximum of $2000) so in this case, you'd get $2000 back in taxes (25% of $9600 is $2400, which is exceeds the maximum of $2000, so you'd just get the maximum of $2000). Isn't that great?

Now, the MCC is good for the life of the loan and can even be reissued should you refinance your loan. You have to meet certain income guidelines (they're not that strict) and you must be a 1st time buyer, but that's about it for qualifications. The program began on July 1, 2009 and will continue until their $25Million alotment of money runs out, so it should continue for most of this coming year (unless we get a huge influx of borrowers applying for them).

If you're curious about MCC's, please don't hesitate to email me or give me a call -- I'll be happy to help in any way i can!

The scam recently affected an agent in my office, Keller Williams Bluegrass in Lexington, KY. The agent had listed a home for sale on Craigslist, a practice that's becoming more common among web-savvy real estate agents. And while the originally posting of the home for sale was legitimate, what happened next was pure scam.

The scammer took all the information about the property -- pictures, description and location -- and listed the home as being for rent, posting his email address as the contact point. When people emailed him inquiring about the property, they were told he was traveling out of the country and that they should mail him a deposit. According to reports, he then claimed he would mail them the keys to the home -- no credit checks, no showings and no interview of the prospective renters was required.

The agent received dozens of calls about the home from people who drove past the house, saw her sign and inquired about renting it. To their disappointment, the house was already sold, but the upside to all this is that authorities say they're not aware of any interested parties sending any deposit money, so the scammer didn't actually profit from his efforts.

If you run across a home listed for rent on Craigslist.org, please feel free to call me, Sharon Roark, at 859-433-3676 and I'll be happy to investigate for you to help ensure the home is being offered for rent by a legitimate party.

It's an optimism shared by those who follow building trends around Lexington, although it appears to have not yet spread to surrounding counties. Those in the city say the rise in permits might be an indication that sales of homes in Lexington KY could finally be turning around.

Permits for single-family home have increased from 135 last year to 190 in the first quarter of 2009. Behind that increase are companies like Anderson Communities, which, according to owner Dennis Anderson, is "poised to be ready" for the impending turn-around in the housing market. Anderson said they've spent the winter coming up with new floor plans and honing their processes to be ready for the upswing they anticipate will happen later this year.

First-quarter real estate sales figures for Central Kentucky have not yet been released by the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors but are expected in the coming weeks.

People who are buying homes to be renovated are also contributing to a large rise in overall building permits. Total permits, which include renovations of existing homes as well as permits for commercial construction, rose 20 percent in the first quarter to 3,287 from 2,744 a year ago.

1. Location. The location of your home in relation to your work or children's school can have a huge impact on how much you enjoy living in your new home. If your commute is 20 minutes longer each way than it could be, will you really be that glad you paid less for the home? Spending 40 additional minutes each day in your car really adds up and can make the difference between having the time to cook dinner for your family or ordering a pizza. Think of that when you start looking for homes; your time has an intrinsic value and the cost of wasted time can't be accurately calculated.

2. Neighborhood. The character and flavor of a neighborhood is another important factor in whether your new home will be a good fit for you. Lots of mature trees and large yards? That's great -- if you don't mind mowing a large yard. If you do, you may want to consider a townhome or condo where the mowing is taken care of for you as part of your monthly association fee.

Do you like a neighborhood with a lot of diversity or would you rather live around people who are a lot like you? To get a good feel for the mix of people that live in a particular neighborhood, drive around between 5-6pm during the week when people are arriving home from work. This will also give you a good idea of what traffic patterns are like in the neighborhood during peak traffic time.

3. Layout. Think carefully about whether the layout of a home will fit your needs. Do you entertain a lot? If so, you'll want a home that has a good flow between the kitchen and main living areas. Have children? Think about whether you'd like to be on the same level as them or whether you'd be happier having your bedroom somewhat seperate from the children's rooms for added peace and quiet.

Do you do a lot of laundry? You may want to consider whether the laundry area is located in the most convenient area of the home for you to easily haul laundry baskets back and forth between the washer/dryer and the bedrooms. Are you a fan of stairs or do you prefer having a home all on one level? If you're looking for ranch homes in Lexington, KY, you'll have a bit of a challenge on your hands as ranch homes (homes that are all on one level) are harder to come by in Lexington. Because of the aggressive restrictions on new building in the area, builders in the past 15-20 years have concentrated on building 2-story homes to be able to fit more homes on limited land.

4. School District. The quality of education your children receive can't be underestimated. Send them to a low-rated school and they may encounter more drugs/lax classroom standards. But keep in mind that living in one of the best school districts costs more because everyone would prefer to send their kids to the best schools in the county.

Which schools are the best in Fayette County? Click here for a copy of the 2008 CATS test scores for all Fayette County Schools.

5. Condition. There's no doubt that you can get a better deal on a home that needs cosmetic or other work, but are you the kind of person who enjoys doing this kind of work or would it be a giant monkey on your back? Some people truly enjoy working around the home and for those folks, buying a home that has outdated kitchens/baths may be a dream come true -- you get to re-do them the way you want them and it gives you something fun to do after hours. But if you're all thumbs when it comes to household repairs, you're likely to regret buying a home that needs major updates unless you have the budget to hire out all the work.

3br, 2ba plus finished basement (basement currently used as 4th bedroom and home office, but would be a great family room as well!)

Tons of updates! Since 2007, home has had a new roof, new heat/air, new windows and new water heater in 2005. This home boasts a HUGE eat-in kitchen and hardwood flooring throughout all main living areas on first floor, including all 3 bedrooms. Sitting on nearly a 1/3 of an acre lot, this home features mature landscaping and is conveniently located close to everything! UK, St. Joe and just minutes from Keeneland and the airport.

Don't miss your opportunity to see this great home today. Call Sharon Roark, Keller Williams Bluegrass, 859-433-3676.