Following July Dip, August Housing Sales Rise

Despite a continued decline in the number of homes for sale, Wisconsin saw a record number of home sales in August, following a sales dip in July.

The latest report from the Wisconsin Realtors Association found just more than 8,500 home sales in the state last month, up 0.6 percent from August 2016.

Economist David Clark of Marquette University said the increase in sales has come even as the state’s housing inventory has fallen.

“They’re down about 3 percent,” Clark said. “Those new listings continue to lag a bit behind where they were last year, and that’s what’s putting this upward pressure on our prices.”

The median home price was $182,000 in August. That’s up 7.1 percent compared to the median price of a home one year ago.

Clark said new business activity, including the planned Foxconn plant in southeast Wisconsin, will likely spur additional homebuilding.

But he added it will take time for the new supply to change the housing picture.

“Demand’s strong, and will likely continue to be strong, given some of these recent announcements,” he said. “The supply side, though, will start to see some improvement — probably the improvements are likely to be six-12 months out.”

Clark said Wisconsin cities continue to have the tightest real estate markets in the state.

Dane, La Crosse and Kenosha counties are among the areas with fewer than four months of housing available for sale.