May 8, 2012 (Shirley Allen)
Monthly sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums surged by over 50 percent in Wisconsin during March and outpaced the previous year’s sales for the ninth consecutive month according to the latest housing data from the Wisconsin Realtors® Association (WRA).
An estimated total of 4,791 existing single-family homes and condos were sold in the Badger State in March. That was 53.8 percent higher than the 3,116 homes sold in February and 25.0 percent higher than the 3,834 homes sold in March 2011. It was the ninth consecutive month that homes sales have improved year-over-year.
The median sales price for an existing home in Wisconsin increased by 7.4 percent in March to $123,500, up from $115,000 in February, and was 0.4 percent higher than the median price of $123,000 in March 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 Northeast Region (+32.9 percent) reporting the largest increase followed by the Central Region (+32.3 percent).
The Southeast Region recorded the most sales for the month with an estimated 1,797 home sales, up from 1,446 in March 2011, while the South Central Region followed with an estimated 943 closed sales for the month, up from 749 a year ago.
Year-over-year, four of the regions posted an increase in their median prices led by the North Region (+10.5 percent) with the South Central Region (-3.1 percent) posting the largest decline in prices.
The total number of homes available for sale increased slightly in March with 54,181 homes actively available. That’s up from 52,935 in February but down from 61,510 in March of 2011.
The state had an average 12.2 months supply of homes available for purchase, up slightly from a 12.1 months supply in February but still down from a 14.5 months supply a year earlier.
Tags: existing homes, condos, sales, median home prices, Wisconsin
Source:
WRA