April 10, 2012 (Shirley Allen)
Monthly sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums improved in Wisconsin during February and outpaced the previous year’s sales for the eighth consecutive month according to the latest housing data from the Wisconsin Realtors® Association (WRA).
An estimated total of 3,116 existing single-family homes and condos were sold in the Badger State in February. That was 8.9 percent higher than the 2,862 homes sold in January and 15.6 percent higher than the 2,695 homes sold in February 2011. It was the eighth consecutive month that homes sales improved year-over-year.
The median sales price for an existing home in Wisconsin fell by 3.8 percent in February to $115,000, down from $119,500 in January, and was 1.7 percent lower than the median price of $117,000 in February of last year.
Rob Keefe, Chairman of the WRA, stated, “It’s very encouraging to see sustained growth in home sales. We’re hopeful that the combination of moderating prices and low mortgage rates will carry this momentum into the next six months, which are the prime homebuying season in Wisconsin.”
All six of the regions that provide data for the monthly report posted gains in home sales over the previous year with the Southeast Region (+22.6 percent) reporting the largest increase followed by the Northeast Region (+17.2 percent).
The Southeast Region also recorded the most sales for the month with an estimated 1,188 home sales, up from 969 in February 2011, while the Northeast Region followed with an estimated 579 closed sales for the month, up from 494 a year ago.
Year-over-year, three of the regions posted an increase in their median prices or remained unchanged led by the Northeast Region (+3.2 percent) with the North Region (-5.0 percent) posting the largest decline in prices.
The total number of homes available for sale increased slightly in February with 52,935 homes actively available. That’s up from 51,158 in January but down from 58,331 in February of 2011.
The state had an average 12.1 months supply of homes available for purchase, up slightly from an 11.8 months supply in January but still down from a 13.6 months supply a year earlier.
Tags: existing homes, condos, sales, median home prices, Wisconsin
Source:
WRA
