Louisville was founded in 1878 by Louis Nawatny, so the source of its name is obvious. The railroad tracks were already there, making it easy to get all that coal underneath the ground to market up and down the front range. The coal mines all closed by about 1952, but you can see a trace here and there-for example the vacant lot at the corner of Jefferson and Hutchinson. Downtown Louisville is beautiful: a "traditional" Main Street, nice shops and restaurants, and no parking meters. Old Town, which goes about one block east of Main and about four blocks west, has many residences dating from the first third of the last century. Most are on alleys, so you can have the garage in the back and what looks like a real house in the front.

 

As for housing stock, the older houses tend to be clustered near Main Street.  Louisville has had quite a bit of growth from the late 1970s through the '90s, so you can find houses typical of those times: ranches, split-levels, bi-levels, and more recent "modern eclectic" types with lots of gables, complicated roof lines, three-car garages, and just about any amount of square footage you need.  The topography varies, and areas northwest of downtown are hilly, so you can find houses with views of either the Rocky Mountains to the west or the plains to the south and east. The town is pretty much built out, and probably won't grow much in population past its current 19,000-20,000 residents.  Aside from the new development northeast of South Boulder Road and Highway 42 known as "The North End," there has not been, and probably won't be, much new in the way of large scale housing projects. 

 

My conclusion:  Wonderful town + limited housing stock + strong demand = increasing house prices.  Even so, the median price in Louisville is about $200,000 less that that of Boulder.

 

 

As of May 24 there are 21 active listings downtown, ranging from $199,000 to $797,000.  Average: $378,376. Median: $314,900. Average days on market: 141.

 

 

From March 1 to late May, looking at houses of 1800-2500 square feet, 3-4 bedrooms, at least 2 baths and 2 garage spaces, there were 7 sales. Average price: $349,535. Median: $328,000, and an average of 90 days on the market. 

 

Overall in Louisville, there are 76 homes for sale, from $199,000 to $1,199,000.  Average is $440,256, median is $379,000, and average days on market is 98.  

 

Here are some good links:

Photos-coming soon                      Coal Mine Map                              City of Louisville                                Louisville Historical Museum