A typical Lexington home is worth about $333,000
Up 3.4% in a year, 43% above the Kentucky typical home. Homes typically sell in 35 days, close to asking.
What stands out about housing in Lexington
Up 33% in five years
Faster than Kentucky (25.2%).
Show as a table
| January | Lexington | Kentucky |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $179,000 | $131,000 |
| 2018 | $192,000 | $138,000 |
| 2019 | $199,000 | $146,000 |
| 2020 | $210,000 | $155,000 |
| 2021 | $231,000 | $173,000 |
| 2022 | $258,000 | $191,000 |
| 2023 | $283,000 | $207,000 |
| 2024 | $302,000 | $216,000 |
| 2025 | $317,000 | $229,000 |
| 2026 | $329,000 | $233,000 |
| August 2026 | $333,000 | $233,000 |
A typical Lexington home worth $176K in September 2016 is worth about $333K today.
How Lexington ranks on rising home prices →
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through August 2026.
A strong seller's market
Homes are selling faster than new ones are listed: less than two months of supply. Well-priced homes can draw several offers.
Under ~4 months of supply favors sellers; over ~6 favors buyers.
Redfin Data Center, all residential sales, May 2026.
A typical home costs 4.8 years of income
More than across Kentucky (3.7 years). Try your own numbers below.
That’s $63K short of a typical Lexington home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,440 a month here, $550 less than owning.
How Lexington ranks on affordability →
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Lexington’s typical property tax (0.87% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,440
Renters already here pay a median of $1,164, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
How Lexington ranks on rent that’s easy to afford →
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Lexington-Fayette, KY MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
1,052 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 1,052 new homes in Lexington in 2025: 507 single-family houses and 545 in buildings with two or more homes, worth about $165.4 million to build. That's 3.2 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Kentucky (6.5). Over the past 10 years, Lexington has permitted 14,194 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Lexington gained 26,767 residents while 12,728 new homes were permitted: about 2.1 new residents per new home. Building and growth moved roughly in step. Across Kentucky: 1.6 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 1,041 | 336 | 705 | $239.8 million |
| 2025 | 1,052 | 507 | 545 | $165.4 million |
| 2024 | 1,036 | 492 | 544 | $162.2 million |
| 2023 | 1,398 | 624 | 774 | $214.7 million |
| 2022 | 1,731 | 686 | 1,045 | $253.9 million |
| 2021 | 1,655 | 792 | 863 | $260.2 million |
| 2020 | 1,437 | 702 | 735 | $224.5 million |
| 2019 | 1,383 | 579 | 804 | $217.8 million |
| 2018 | 1,789 | 733 | 1,056 | $183.1 million |
| 2017 | 1,348 | 743 | 605 | $164.7 million |
| 2016 | 1,365 | 670 | 695 | $165.7 million |
| 2015 | 1,342 | 629 | 713 | $137.6 million |
| 2014 | 1,225 | 687 | 538 | $134.5 million |
| 2013 | 899 | 676 | 223 | $121.5 million |
| 2012 | 1,816 | 750 | 1,066 | $190 million |
| 2011 | 739 | 513 | 226 | $83.3 million |
| 2010 | 822 | 628 | 194 | $92.7 million |
| 2009 | 1,102 | 770 | 332 | $114 million |
| 2008 | 2,194 | 771 | 1,423 | $245.2 million |
| 2007 | 1,360 | 1,227 | 133 | $205.1 million |
| 2006 | 2,080 | 1,521 | 559 | $282.2 million |
| 2005 | 2,763 | 2,399 | 364 | $321.9 million |
| 2004 | 2,960 | 2,184 | 776 | $317.5 million |
| 2003 | 2,309 | 2,206 | 103 | $286 million |
| 2002 | 2,321 | 2,142 | 179 | $249.5 million |
| 2001 | 1,758 | 1,649 | 109 | $194.5 million |
| 2000 | 2,544 | 1,898 | 646 | $243.9 million |
Lexington's permit office didn't report to the Census in 2025, so the 2025 figures are Census estimates.
How Lexington ranks on new homes being built →
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
55 of Lexington’s houses are on the National Register
Half of Lexington’s homes were built before 1984.
Kentucky: 68% own.
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024. Historic houses: National Register of Historic Places.
Neighbors talk housing
What Lexington buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, August 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Historic houses: National Register of Historic Places. Listings link to their publishers. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer.