Homes prices in some northern counties are not quite keeping pace with the rest of the state.
The Wisconsin Realtors Association says statewide, median home prices went up almost eight percent in the first three quarters of this year. But in Forest County, prices dropped almost 40 percent.
Dave Clark, economist for the Wisconsin Realtors Association, says don’t panic. Statistics in the northern part of the state tend to be more volatile. There’s a smaller dataset and a wider mix of the types of homes that sell from year to year.
“The primary thing probably going on here is that the mix of homes is different. Maybe they’re smaller, maybe they’re in less desirable locations.”
Oneida County saw home prices drop by a smaller margin - of about five percent. Sandy Eben of First Weber Group in Rhinelander says part of what’s keeping prices in some counties lagging behind…is a big inventory. Especially of those vacation properties.
“The big thing that makes us different from the southern part of the state is the large number of second homes and recreational properties we have up here. And that’s really a market unto itself.”
She says that market is taking longer to recover.
Meanwhile the total number of home sales in Oneida County jumped significantly – by almost 20 percent. That’s much higher than the statewide average.
