The number of home sales in the four-county metro Milwaukee area increased by 26.5 percent in March, compared to March of 2011, the ninth month in a row of double-digit year-over-year home sale increases, according to the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors (GMAR).
For the first quarter of 2012 the market was up 22.9 percent compared to the first quarter of 2011.
“The higher volumes of buyer traffic that brokers have been reporting since late last year, and the resulting sales, have established a firm pattern of recovery in the metropolitan Milwaukee housing market,” said GMAR president Mike Ruzicka. “With employment figures improving in the state, consumer confidence – the missing ingredient in our market for several years – is on the rise.”
After a 24.8 percent increase in listings in February, listings fell in March by 1.6 percent.
“Inventory of move-in ready homes is at a low not seen since 2007, although the number of foreclosures is inflating the overall inventory number.,” Ruzicka said.
