The roller coaster ride for the real estate market in metropolitan Milwaukee ended 2010 on a high note, with December sales increasing 3.5 percent over December 2009, according to housing statistics by Metro MLS Inc.
The monthly increase was due to an improvement in market conditions locally compared with the fall-off in transactions in December 2009, after the federal homebuyer tax credit had been extended and expanded. Buyers took the month of December off in 2009 with the knowledge they could get back in the market in the New Year.
In December 2010, amid terrific mortgage rates, a wide selection in all price categories and prices down substantially from the mid-decade highs, buyers took advantage of the values in the market.
For the year, however, sales in the region were down 13.4 percent.
For the first decade of the new century, home prices in the four-county metropolitan Milwaukee area increased 25 percent, averaging $181,288 in 2000 and $226,301 in 2010.
In the short-term, the run-up in sales in the first half of 2010 will make comparisons over the next six-months of 2011 difficult. Unless there is an unexpected increase in activity or another federal stimulus, sales will probably look anemic, the agency said.
The agency cited two clouds on the horizon that are limiting a faster recovery. The first is overly tight credit; making it difficult for creditworthy borrowers to qualify for a mortgage. A return to common sense loan underwriting standards would go a long way toward achieving responsible, sustainable homeownership, the agency said.
The second is the number of appraisals coming in below a price negotiated between a buyer and seller. Too many appraisals fail to provide accurate valuation, which is causing a steady level of sales to be cancelled or postponed.
