The four-county metropolitan Milwaukee housing market posted additional sales gains in June. The region’s housing market had a 25.8 percent increase in sales during June and a 28.6 percent increase in sales during the second quarter, according to the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors (GMAR).
June was the 12th consecutive month in which home sales increased by double-digits. “The combination of historically low interest rates and low prices has helped the market tremendously despite recent fluctuations in consumer confidence,” said GMAR president Mike Ruzicka.
June also saw a 12.9 percent decline in homes listed for sale, continuing a recent trend as sales increased, the GMAR said.
“The reduction in listings was needed during the depths of the recession in order to clear foreclosures from the market,” Ruzicka said. “However, in today’s market the contraction of listings has led to a tight level of inventory, now at only 6.3 months. The combination of high sales and low inventory should yield price pressure in the near future, which, in fact, the market started to bear out in the last quarter.”
Washington and Walworth Counties were the first to show positive price appreciation, with respective 1 percent and 1.3 percent increases over the second quarter of 2011, the GMAR report said.
