Home sales went down in April

Home sales were down 4.1% in April in the Greater Milwaukee area realt estate market.

This decline in unit sales is directly related to the decrease in available properties for sale. Low inventory has plagued the market since mid-2015. Beginning in September 2014, there have been 27 months of positive sales.

April 2017 was one of 5 months in negative territory. Washington County was the only county with positive sales, coming in 5.4% ahead of April 2016.

Still, the real estate market is performing well from a historical perspective. The 1,777 sales in April were 10.4% ahead of 2015’s level.

Home Listings Down

Listings for April were down 1.9% regionally. Yet, remarkably, listings were up in three of the 4 metropolitan counties. Nonetheless, since June of 2015 there have only been 5 months of positive listing growth (18 negative, including April).

Home Inventory Very Tight

The seasonally adjusted inventory level for April was 4.7 months, an increase from March’s 4.4 month level. The seasonally
adjusted level was 5.9 months in April 2016.

Subtracting the 2,859 listings with an active offer from current listings presents an effective inventory level of 2.4 months, slightly higher than March’s 2.3 month level. A year ago, the same calculation showed April’s inventory level at 3.1 months.

GMAR Member Survey

The GMAR surveyed members earlier this week (May 8 — 10) about the market and 66% do not see any signs of inventory increasing during the rest of 2017.

72% of survey respondents would like to see more listings under $300,000.

44% of members surveyed believe prices will increase between 4% and 6% this year over 2016. 20% see a 1% – 3% increase, while 24% believe prices will go up 7% – 9%.

Where to go

Buyers should seek the counsel of a REALTOR® in determining their best housing options, and sellers need a REALTORS® expert advice in making correct marketing decisions with their home.

This report was provided by the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors.The Greater Milwaukee Association of REALTORS® is a 4,000-member strong professional organization dedicated to providing information, services and products to “help REALTORS® help their clients” buy and sell real estate. Data for this report was collected by Metro MLS, Inc. a wholly-owned subsidiary of the GMAR.

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