Home prices in the Milwaukee area increased 5.3 percent from October 2007 to October 2008.
Bucking the national trend during the recession and housing market collapse, home prices in the Milwaukee area increased 5.3 percent from October 2007 to October 2008 according to New York-based Radar Logic Inc.‘s Monthly Housing Market Report.
Milwaukee was the only one of the nation’s 25 largest metro areas to post a year over year increase in home prices, according to the report. The biggest housing price declines were in the western part of the U.S., led by San Francisco (down 34.4 percent), Las Vegas (34.3 percent), Phoenix (32.0 percent), Sacramento (31.4 percent), Los Angeles (30.2 percent), San Diego (30.1 percent) and San Jose (26.2 percent).
Homes in the Milwaukee region sold for $116.37 per square foot during October of 2008. Milwaukee per square foot home prices ranked 15th most expensive of the largest 25 metro areas. Regions with lower home prices include: Jacksonville, Fla. ($104.39 per square foot); Las Vegas ($103.85); St. Louis ($101.94); Tampa ($99.73); Phoenix ($98.23); Charlotte, N.C. ($93.97); Columbus, Ohio ($90.27); Cleveland ($83.96) and Detroit ($81.98).
The Milwaukee residential real estate market also performed well in the longer term, according to the report. The area’s residential real estate prices increased 3.0 percent over a two year period, which led the top 25 metro areas, and grew 4.2 percent over a five year period, which ranked 4th in the top 25 metro areas. Sacramento had the biggest two year decline (25.1 percent) in residential real estate prices and Detroit had the biggest five year decline (6.6 percent).
Residential real estate sales have dropped dramatically in the Milwaukee area, according to the report, down 30.7 percent in October of 2008 compared to October of 2007. That was the fourth largest decrease of the 25 largest metro areas. The biggest increases in transaction volumes occurred in the Sun Belt, including San Diego, Sacramento and Los Angeles, which have been driven by foreclosure-related sales, according to the report.
