Home sales in metro Milwaukee area down 14.5 percent this year

Home sales in the metro Milwaukee area are down 14.5 percent for the first 11 months of the year, compared to the first 11 months of 2009, according to the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors (GMAR). There were 11,539 home sales in the metro area through November, compared to 13,490 for the first 11 months of 2009.
November home sales were down 43.1 percent compared to November of 2009. That data was skewed by the first federal home buyer tax credit which was to have expired at the end of November 2009.
“Statistically, we will continue to see large percentage decreases in transactions for the rest of 2010 and into 2011, due to comparing sales in periods that were fueled by the federal tax credits, which finally ended in April 2010,” said GMAR president Mike Ruzicka.