Wisconsin On Track For Record Home Sales Again In 2017

Wisconsin home sales are slightly ahead of last year’s record figures.

The latest monthly report from the Wisconsin Realtors Association show 63,398 home sales in the state in the first nine months of the year. That’s 0.4 percent ahead of the same period in 2016, a year that saw the highest number of sales under a tracking system first used in 2005.

Economist David Clark of Marquette University said the increased sales are especially notable because there have been fewer homes available for sale this year.

“You’ve got strong demand conditions and limited supply options,” Clark said. “That’s going to keep your sales from growing as much as they would if you had ample supply, and it’s going to drive prices up.”

The median home price continues to climb because of the tight housing supply.

As of September, it stood at about $175,000.

Clark and other housing analysts expect tight housing supplies for at least six to 12 more months, but he said the decline in inventory appears to have slowed.

“Year to date, they’re down about 2.6 percent for this nine-month period versus the nine-month period last year,” Clark said. “If you look at the September numbers, though,they’re only down about 1.9 percent. So there’s a little bit of hint that maybe things are improving on a monthly basis on those new listings.”