January usually isn't a stellar sales month for Wisconsin's realtors, but overall, a spokesperson says the trend upward continues.
David Clark is an economist for the state's realtors. He says January only accounts for about 5 percent of the year's sales. Clark says home sales were strong in January...
"....but if you compare this January to last January, we're up about 1.7 percent and if you look at the Januarys since 2005 this is the best January we've had. In general sales are up a little bit from last year, last year was a real good year, so the sales volume was solid. Prices are up 6.4 percent..."
In the 18 county northern region, sales were identical to a year ago at 354 homes sold, but the price was off slightly at an average of $127,000. January saw a continuation of shrinking inventories of homes for sale, especially in urban areas. Clark says the market is getting tight in urban areas...
"....our inventory levels are getting very low, our demand continues to be solid. We have a decent economy. We have low mortgage rates by historical standards. Relatively solid demand and weaker supply...."
2016 saw a record year overall for state realtors, though some portions of the state were not at the pace of some of the urban communities.
