Milwaukee home sales rose in January

The metropolitan Milwaukee real estate market began the new year on a surprisingly high-note, with January sales up 17.9 percent over January 2010, according to housing statistics by Metro MLS Inc.
The large increase was due to improved market conditions locally, including low mortgage rates, a wide selection in all price categories and prices down substantially from the mid-decade highs, according to the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors (GMAR).
Additionally, there was a comparative lull in the real estate market in January 2010, which was a result of homebuyers taking their time looking for homes between the expected end of the tax credit in November 2009 and the extended and expanded credit deadline of April 2010.
In the coming months, comparative sales data should be down because home sales in the first half of 2010 were fueled by the federal homebuyers tax credits, which were particularly effective at getting first-time buyers into the market, the GMAR said.
After the tax credits expired at the end of April, the market took a precipitous decline last summer.
Over the longer-term, the organization expects the southeastern Wisconsin real estate market to gradually improve.
Beginning in 2011, the demographic wave of Generation Y buyers hitting the market will provide an extra boost to the market for years to come, the GMAR said.