More Wisconsin homes sold in the first quarter this year than the beginning of the Great Recession in 2007.
The Wisconsin Realtors Association is out with the first quarter sales numbers and prices for homes sold in each portion of the state. In the Northwoods, the average price for a home rose 20 percent from the same three months one year ago to a median price of $126,000. Sales also increased four percent from one year ago. State realtors economist David Clark says interest rates and a generally good economy are fueling the increases. Clark says interest rates are holding at about 3.6 percent, still lower than many years...
"....we've enjoyed pretty low interest rates. But the economy is in pretty good shape. We have an unemployment rate in the state that is about 4.5 percent. That's about half a point lower than the U.S.(rate)...."
Clark says there are more homes available here, but he says if you look at the numbers, larger homes are selling better than smaller homes...
"......those are the ones, we've seen lots of sales in those areas. That will affect those median prices. You essentially shift the median prices up because the types of homes that are selling are bigger homes compared to last year, because of inventory constraints for those entry level homes...."
The number of unsold homes fell statewide to 40,805 in March, which is 9.1 percent lower than the inventory in March 2015. Clark says there's 6.3 months of supply on the statewide market and even less in the urban counties, making for tight inventory numbers in some communities which is putting pressure on prices.
