The Wisconsin Realtors Association reports more homes were sold in Wisconsin in 2015 than any year since 2005. According to the year-end report, the 76,693 homes that closed 2015 topped the 68,857 sold in 2014. That’s about 8,000 shy of the homes sold pre-recession. Economist David Clark says the strong housing market was a trend across the whole state with a 10 to 12 percent sale increase in all of the six regions.
“…one of the things that home sales respond to is consumer confidence and when consumers are not confident about the future that usually turns up in terms of lower home sales. That’s an indication that the economy is on solid footing.”
Clark says inventory sales are down making for elevated prices. He says median prices were about 5 percent higher in 2015 than in 2014. Numbers show Oneida County had a 70 percent median price increase from 2015 to 2014 with a 2 percent sale loss. Vilas and Lincoln County prices were down 33 and 39 percent with a 33 and 37 percent sale increase. Clark says with decreasing unemployment rates he expects the strong housing market trend to continue into 2016.
