Milwaukee

In its entirety, 2013 proved to be a good year for housing. Home sales and prices were broadly higher across the nation, while foreclosure loads, the number of homes for sale and the number of days it took to sell a home were all much lower. Multiple-offer situations became commonplace again and prices in many areas rallied to multi-year highs. This, of course, varied by location and segment, but the proverbial glass appeared to be more than half full throughout the year.

New Listings in the Milwaukee region decreased 6.9 percent to 916. Pending Sales were down 21.1 percent to 678. Inventory levels shrank 9.3 percent to 6,227 units.

Prices marched higher. The Median Sales Price increased 8.2 percent to $167,700. Days on Market was down 8.8 percent to 91 days. Absorption rates improved as Months Supply of Inventory was down 15.4 percent to 4.6 months.

Housing is fortified by confident consumers and good jobs. The year 2013 was marked by a slowly improving labor market stunted by political gridlock, and the Federal Reserve's long-awaited taper announcement was not surprising. Interest rates remain low (but upwardly mobile), prices are still affordable, the employment picture looks decent and the stock market is up nearly 30.0 percent from this time last year. It's no wonder that buyers were active in 2013. Here's to more of the same in 2014.

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