Milwaukee

As the school-aged among us work their way back into classrooms across America, we continue to monitor key improvements in the local housing market with a keener eye. With two-thirds of 2012 complete, we're starting to get a sense for how the year will shake out. Headlines include encouraging phrases like "Recovery Takes Hold," "Home Prices on the Rise" and "Situation Eases for Sellers." Local market conditions can vary. Let's see just how much.

New Listings in the Milwaukee region decreased 5.8 percent to 2,018. Pending Sales were down 9.0 percent to 1,054. Inventory levels shrank 17.8 percent to 9,395 units.

Prices moved higher. The Median Sales Price increased 4.7 percent to $180,000. Days on Market was down 5.7 percent to 98 days. The supply-demand balance stabilized as Months Supply of Inventory was down 33.8 percent to 8.1 months.

With election season in full swing, both politicians and economists will place extra emphasis on jobs and unemployment figures. Recognizing the relationship between jobs and housing demand, the most tuned-in agents and brokers will do the same. The truth is, the economy is and has been expanding consistently for years, albeit at a disjointed pace. There's reason for optimism going into the last third of 2012 and even into 2013, and housing is actually playing a large role in that positive outlook.

All data for the market reports comes from the Multiple Listing Service, Inc. and is powered by 10K Research and Marketing. You can follow this link: http://www.metromls.com/support/Market_Updates/index.html or visit www.metromls.com.

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