Home sales in the metro Milwaukee area dipped slightly in February, with 10 fewer homes sold during the month than in February of 2018, according to the latest report from the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors.
There were 1,039 homes sold in the metro area during February, compared to 1,049 homes sold in the area during February of 2018.
Extremely cold weather in February hurt sales, according to the GMAR report.
“The fact that sales were only 10 units behind 2018, and the weather was horrible, means there is a healthy amount of demand for homes by those seeking them,” said GMAR president Mike Ruzicka. “A healthy segment of the demand is among first-time and empty-nester buyers, but there simply are not enough listings available, particularly those under $300,000, to satisfy that demand.”
Listings of homes for sale were also down in February. There were 1,523 homes listed for sale in the four-country region during the month, down 14.4 percent from a year ago.
The seasonally adjusted inventory level (the amount of time it would take to sell all of the homes on the market at a given time) for the metro Milwaukee housing market is 2.9 months, which indicates it is a sellers’ market. Generally six months of inventory is considered a balanced market.
“Many homes listed in February will become sales in March and April,” Ruzicka said. “The fact that lists in February were anemic spells a tight sales market on the horizon.”
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