LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A section of the housing market across Fayette County is heating up as prices continue to rise and inventory remains low.
“I think townhomes are a smart investment for builders also,” said Lexington realtor Christina Dudek. “As we face this affordable housing crisis we have, and this inventory crisis we have, a townhome is a good answer to those,” she continued.
And Dudek believes the trend isn't going away anytime soon.
“We've seen new builds of townhomes on the rise above single-family homes,” Dudek said. This will help keep the inventory strong while keeping prices substantially lower than those of single-family homes.
With a townhouse, a buyer gets the benefits of home ownership, including the mortgage interest tax deduction, without many of the hassles or expenses an owner can encounter with a single-family home.
“We have a lot of over 55 baby boomers who are purchasing townhomes,” Dudek said. “They want to stay close to family in Kentucky but maybe also live in a warmer climate, so then they don't have maintenance (of a home), which is a huge issue,” she added.
Dudek noted that many young people breaking into the housing market for the first time also take this path because the entry prices are much more affordable.
“Right now, my daughter is on my team and knows a lot of young professionals, so she’s selling a lot of townhomes,” Dudek said while standing outside the townhome her daughter recently purchased.
Christina thinks this shift towards townhouse living is purely a result of pricing and has little to do with interest rates. Home prices, she said, have been up 30% over the last three years. Developers are seeing the benefits of building in volume, too, which could help keep the market flush with availability.
“It makes it denser, so you have more units for people to get into. For a builder, there’s more volume there,” Dudek stated.
