Home sales last month were similar to sales last September. The latest numbers from the Wisconsin Realtors Association show a half a percent increase in September sales for northern Wisconsin. Meanwhile sales statewide fell slightly by just two tenths of a percentage point.
Economist Dave Clark says it’s good news that the market is keeping up with last year’s strong sales.
“It’s certainly an indication that the market tends to be relatively stable. If we’re slightly below where we were last year, that was still a very solid year. And the fact that we’re not seeing the same type of weakness that we saw in the first part of the year, is certainly encouraging.”
Looking at the first nine months of the year, sales are down 1.3 percent for northern Wisconsin, while prices are up by more than four percent.
The state as a whole seems to have slowed down a little more. Sales for the first nine months of the year are down almost 3 and a half percent compared to last year, while prices increased about 2 and a half percent.
Clark says relatively high inventories in rural counties are keeping prices affordable, and it’s still somewhat of a buyers’ market outside of metropolitan areas.
