Wisconsin Real Estate & Wisconsin Living presented by First Weber Group

Some instances of multiple, competing offers spells pent up demand

April sales surged 44% over last April’s sales in the Metro Milwaukee area.  Local Realtors have been busy for months with increasing sales, even through the winter months, which may have been helped by the mild weather.  ”The activity is really, really robust right now, which is wonderful,” said Cindy Fleming of First Weber’s Brookfield office, as quoted in a Journal Sentinel article.  “At certain price points we’re seeing multiple offers. A lot of those are under $300,000 but even some in the $400,000 and $500,000 range are coming in with multiples.”

The buying opportunity may never be the same

Prices are not rebounding as well as sales, but the increased activity is creating enthusiasm among Realtors. Fleming says “People are finally more serious and I think they feel that we’ve hit bottom and they’re anxious to go – and rates are excellent.”  It is important to note that interest rates are at historic lows and low rates equal a lower monthly payment.  The excitement in the market, low rates, stable prices and a drop in new listings for the last few months all point to the road to recovery.  Will 2012 be the year for you to buy a home? The opportunity may never be the same.

Milwaukee County Home Sales

38.3% increase/April 2012: 910 vs April 2011: 658

Waukesha County Home Sales

46.4% increase/April 2012: 410 vs April 2011: 280

Ozaukee County Home Sales

68.9% increase/April 2012: 103 vs April 2011: 61

Washington County Home Sales

68.6% increase/April 2012: 118 vs April 2011: 70

Racine County Home Sales

12% increase /April 2012: 159 vs April 2011: 142  

data source Milwaukee MLS

We’re excited at these increases!

If you are a seller or buyer, you should be too.  More people buying should give homebuyers confidence in their decision to buy now.  Sellers, buyers are active!  Prepare your home continually to to attract an offer.  Check out your competition at firstweber.com.  Please contact a First Weber agent to discuss home sales in your particular area.  You may also search for sold prices at firstweber.com in the Southeast and South Central Wisconsin area free of charge and without an account. Sold searches in other parts of the state require registration for a free MyFirstWeber account first.

Thanks for reading the First Weber Wisconsin real estate & Wisconsin living blog about a 44% increase inMetro Milwaukee real estate sales. Please contact First Weber with any Wisconsin real estate needs.

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As with Metro Milwaukee , the South Central Wisconsin area and Wisconsin real estate as a whole, sales are rebounding extremely well this first quarter.  So it is also with Southwestern WI rural land sales. Jay Frazier, Rural Property Pro in Southwest Wisconsin, reports that land sales seemed to have turned the same corner, but going further that direction with land showing a 10% price increase compared to a year ago.

Up 114% and prices up 10%

Total land  transactions in the first quarter of 2101 in Southwestern Wisconsin (counties of Grant, Richland, Crawford, Iowa, Lafayette, Sauk and Vermon) are up 114%

Below is a chart from Jay detailing the sales by county.

 Land Sales Grant County

# sales 1st quarter of 2012: 9 vs 2011 sales: 5

Price per acre 2012: $3,346 vs $4,663 2011

Land Sales Layfayette County

# sales 1st quarter of 2012: 3 vs 2011 sales: 6

Price per acre 2012: $6,053 vs $3,160 2011

Land Sales Richland County

# sales 1st quarter of  2012: 9 vs 2011 sales: 1

Price per acre 2012: $2,501 vs $2,331 2011

Land Sales Sauk County

# sales 2012: 13 vs 2011 sales: 4

Price per acre 2012: $3,255 vs $3,595 2011

Land Sales Crawford County

# sales 1st quarter of 2012: 2 vs 2011 sales: 1

Price per acre 2012: $1,947 vs $2,088 2011

Land Sales Vernon County

# sales 1st quarter of 2012: 3 vs 2011 sales: 2

Price per acre 2012: $3,857 vs $2,869 2011

Land Sales Iowa County

# sales 1st quarter of 2012: 6 vs 2011 sales: 2

Price per acre 2012: $3,844 vs $3,725 2011

Per Jay’s research, rural land in WI may have turned a corner.  See much more details at his Southwest Wisconsin real estate blog. You can search for rural land for sale in Wisconsin at Jay’s site or firstweber.com.

 Jay Frazier, First Weber Group Muscoda

Thanks for reading the First Weber Wisconsin real estate and Wisconsin living blog for information on rural land sales in Southwest Wisconsin

Chart courtesy of Jay Frazier

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Wisconsin home sales continue to improve, with March sales being up 25% over March 2011, according to the Wisconsin REALTORS Association.  South Central WI and Metro Milwaukee real estate also showed large growth in home sales.

While the milder winter may have contributed a bit to the growth in sales, it is important to note that home sales have been on the rise in Wisconsin for the last nine months.  All areas of Wisconsin have seen great improvement.

Take a look at home sales and prices by Wisconsin region during the first quarter compared to last year’s first quarter:

Southeastern Wisconsin (Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha Counties)

Sales up 20.8%, median price down 4.2%

South Central WI (Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Grant, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Lafayette, Richland, Rock, Sauk Counties)

Sales up 19.8%, median price down 3.4%
Northeast WI (Brown, Calumet, Door, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Marinette, Menomonee, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawno, Waupaca, Winnebago Counties)

Sales up 26.3%, median price up 2.7%

Central WI (Adams, Clark, Juneau, Marathon, Marquette, Portage, Waushara, Wood counties)

Sales up 14%, median price up .2%

Northwoods Wisconsin (Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Florence, Forest, Iron, Langlade, Lincoln, Oneida, Polk, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, Taylor, Vilas, Washburn counties)

Sales up 12.4%, median price down 6.6%

Months of inventory is down, affordability index also down

In addition to increased sales over the last nine months, months of inventory is down and the affordability index is also down by 20 points from last month.  Make sure your home is priced just right and presents very well to take advantage of this increased buyer activity!  To see what homes have sold for in your neck of Wisconsin, please do a sold search at firstweber.com.  (Because of Multiple listing service rules, some MLS systems require yo to register for a free myFirstWeber account before viewing sold data. )

Thanks for reading the First Weber Wisconsin real estate & Wisconsin living blog for an update on the Wisconsin housing market. To find a First Weber agent or office, or search for Wisconsin real estate for sale, please search firstweber.com

Thank you!  We could not have achieved such national rankings nor be the top independent broker in Wisconsin without the hard work of all the First Weber agents and their loyal buyers and sellers.   It is always a wonderful feeling to see these reports and see that per the RIS Media Power Broker Report, we are the 24th most productive real estate broker in the nation.  First Weber Group has such a family-like atmosphere that sometimes is it easy to forget we are such a large company.  This award is the result of the year-long efforts of many and we could not have done it without all of you.

If you liked this post, please share and thank you for reading the First Weber Wisconsin real estate & Wisconsin living blog.  If it is Wisconsin real estate you are looking for, firstweber.com is the place to search.

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