State realtors are seeing a bit of a flattening rate when it comes to home sales, but prices continue to inch up as inventories in urban areas are very tight. In rural areas like the Northwoods, more homes are available.
Wisconsin Realtors Association economist David Clark says sales statewide for May compared to last year saw an uptick. But for the first five months Clark says the rate of growth was leveling off....
".....we had a pretty good first quarter, then we had a weak month of April and a slight uptick in May, so that's leading to a year-to-date picture that's essentially flat, slightly down. If you look at prices, though there's a very consistent picture..;prices are up...."
Clark says low unemployment and a reasonably strong economy are helping to spur home purchases, especially in the urban parts of the state.
He says the Northwoods also has seen some growth... "....the picture in the north region is slightly more favorable. The sales in May were up 10.9 percent and prices were up onlyh 3.4 percent. If you look at the first five months of the year the sales were up 7.1 percent and prices were up about 5.7 percent...."
Clark says rural parts of the state have percentage-wise more homes available for sale than in urban areas, where more buyers are pursuing fewer properties. He says affordability remains good, but the rise of interest rates and rising home prices could put a cooling affect on future sales. The summer months typically are the busiest time of the year for realtors.
