Wisconsin Real Estate Market Continues To Tighten

Wisconsin’s housing market is continuing to tighten, according to the latest figures from the Wisconsin Realtors Association. Home sales saw a slight 1.3 percent rise last month compared to May 2016.

Home prices increased by 5.8 percent during the same period, to a median of $174,500.

Economist David Clark of Marquette University said the limited number of homes on the market continues to drive both trends.

“We’ve got about 5.6 months of supply. That compares to about 6.8 months of supply in May of 2016,” Clark said. “Our inventory levels are down, that’s really what is holding sales figures down and that’s what’s pushing prices up.”

Housing markets are particularly tight in the state’s urban areas.

Six of Wisconsin’s metro areas now have less than four months of housing supply available, which is favorable to sellers. Clark said supplies are even lower in some metro areas.

“La Crosse County, they’ve got 2.8 months of inventory,” he said. “Homes go up and they sell very quickly because there just are not that many homes available for sale.”

Meanwhile, rural areas had about 9.2 months of supply, still considered buyer’s markets.

Sales in the first five months of the year are tracking slightly behind last year, largely due to reduced inventories and last year’s unusually strong start to home sales.