“Jeffersonville is a city that has options for everyone,” said Mayor Mike Moore.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A new neighborhood in Jeffersonville is supposed to be perfect for first-time homebuyers, according to the mayor.
There is a national trend of rising housing costs, making starter homes a thing of the past.
However, Mike Moore said the neighborhood’s new homes will start at $260,000.
“As we’ve seen through COVID and everything else, housing prices have increased dramatically,” Moore said. “People are always asking for affordable housing and you know what? Jeffersonville is a city that has options for everyone.”
Ten homes are expected to open in the fall, and most will have three bedrooms.
Moore said some developers told him it couldn’t be done.
“In the last two years, a couple of developers came to me wanting to build 500-square-foot houses. I said, ‘No, Jeffersonville doesn’t get into the tiny house business,’ and they said, ‘Mayor, that’s it.’ the only way we can build a house for less than $200,000,” Moore said.
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The new Spring Meadow subdivision opens on 10th Street in Jeffersonville, near Colonial Park Drive.
According to a study by Indiana University, home sales in 2023 fell by almost 16% in just one year. The number of building permits for single-family homes also declined.
Fewer homes being built and rising mortgage rates have led many young adults to live in apartments.
The same can be said for Kentucky; according to Zillow, the median home value has increased by about 5% and the median rental price has risen by more than $100 in a year.
However, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg highlighted city programs designed to help first-time homeowners.
One of them is the Louisville Revert Program, or Restoration of Every Economically Viable and Degraded Territory.
It is a program funded by the metropolitan government to help families realize the dream of homeownership while restoring neighborhoods affected by redlining.
Since the program started 18 months ago, it has helped 17 people own their own homes.
Officials said the goal of the Revert program is to reach 216 Louisville residents and help them become homeowners.
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