Real estate sales in Wisconsin started off with a strong January. February sales numbers are now in and are off 5% from last February. One reason for that difference is that last February, sales were boosted by the tax credit program. Comparing sales by month to the previous year has long been a standard of assessing sales, however, it will be a while until this method compares apples to apples again. Year to date provides a better view.
Year to date through February, there have been 5,215 sales in 2011 versus 4,965 in 2010. The North and Central regions have seen surges in sales for the last two months. Data from Wisconsin Realtors Association.
| Region | Median price YTD 2011 | Median price YTD 2010 | % change | Sales YTD 2011 | Sales YTD 2010 | % change |
| Southeast WI | $130,000 | $145,000 | -10.3% | 1894 | 1828 | +3.6% |
| South Central WI | $140,000 | $154,950 | -9.6% | 1012 | 996 | +1.6% |
| Northeast WI | $114,750 | $123,000 | -6.7% | 886 | 899 | -1.4% |
| Central WI | $97,125 | $107,750 | -9.9% | 346 | 292 | +18.5% |
| Northwoods WI | $101,000 | $100,000 | 1.0% | 529 | 390 | +131% |
It remains a difficult time for Wisconsin real estate sellers who need to compete with the many other properties for sale in this buyer’s market. The price and condition of your property are under your control and you should be talking with your real estate agent about how to position yourself in the market to sell and move on with your life. If moving on to a different house, consider the high affordability and low mortgage rates as a silver lining for buying low after possibly having to sell low.
For buyers: “We have a regular real estate miracle happening right now. We not only have record low prices, but we also have cheap money”, real estate expert Barbara Corcoran said in this brief article from the KCM Crew. The Wisconsin Realtors Housing Affordability index is now at 255, up from 216 a year ago. If you can swing buying a home now, seriously consider it.
For sellers, talk to your agent about absorption rates in your area to see what price point might be worth looking at.
Thank you for reading the First Weber Wisconsin real estate & Wisconsin living blog for information on the housing market in Wisconsin.