Milwaukee-area home sales slipped 4.1 percent in April, which is being directly attributed to the low inventory that has plagued the market since mid-2015.
April was one of only five months where home sales were negative since September 2014, according to the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors.
Out of the four-county metropolitan area, Washington County was the only county with positive sales, coming in 5.4 percent ahead of April 2016 with 176 homes sold.
Milwaukee County saw the steepest decline with a 5.4 percent decrease in home sales over April 2016.
Still, the real estate market is performing well from a historical perspective. The 1,777 sales in the four-county area for April were 10.4 percent ahead of 2015’s level.
Listings for April were down 1.9 percent regionally. Since June of 2015, there have only been 5 months of positive listing growth and 18 negative, including April, according to the GMAR.
Listings were down 1.9 percent in the four county region, with the sharpest decline in Waukesha County at 15.1 percent. In Milwaukee County, listings were up 2.7 percent, although sales were still down.
The seasonally adjusted inventory level for April was 4.7 months, an increase from March’s 4.4 month level. A balanced market is six months.