For the first time in 2018, monthly home sales in metropolitan Milwaukee declined year-over-year, dipping 2.7 percent in May.
Still, with 2,121 homes sold, May 2018 was considered by the Greater Milwaukee Association for Realtors a strong month, with a continued influx of first-time home buyers accounting for approximately 40 percent of the market.
For the year, there were 7,715 total sales, compared to 7,411 in the first five months of 2017, a 4.1 percent increase.
The metropolitan area has enjoyed strong sales since the beginning of 2015, arguably the beginning of the current post-recessionary market, said Mike Ruzica, president of GMAR.
In the metropolitan Milwaukee area, homes under $300,000 accounted for 73.5 percent of homes sold in May. Of those homes, 63 percent sold in under 30 days on the market.
The supply of homes on the market remains tight. The four-county area saw a decrease in listings in May, dropping 1.4 percent, or 42 homes, compared to May 2017. But listings were up in Waukesha County.
“Surprisingly, there may be some light at the end of the dark listing tunnel in the region’s two most populous counties,” Ruzicka said. “Milwaukee County was even with last May’s listing total and Waukesha County saw a 1.2 percent increase. However, without new supply in the form of newly built homes and condos, the increase is probably temporary.”
Since the beginning of 2015, the four-county market saw a year-over-year increase in homes listed for sale in only 13 months.
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