Home sales in the four-county metro Milwaukee area were up 24.3 percent in November compared to November of 2010, the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors (GMAR) reported. There were 968 home sales in the area in November, compared to 779 a year ago.
November was the fifth consecutive month of home sales increases.
A major reason for the year-over-year sales increase in recent months is that sales plummeted in the second half of 2010 after the federal home buyer tax credit expired.
Listings of new homes for sale have been down 10 of the last 12 months, according to GMAR.
“The pie of available homes to buy is shrinking,” said Mike Ruzicka, GMAR president. “May and June were the only months in which listings were above the same point in 2010. The rest of the time we had fewer people attempting to sell their home than the year before. This is a noteworthy development, because some sellers are deciding to wait and see when the market improves before putting their home up for sale. This is a positive development in the current market, because it allows those who are selling to capture more attention from buyers as prices continue to stabilize.”
