Milwaukee

The sun is shining brighter for longer, the birds are chirping a bit louder and people have a renewed spring in their step. And then there's the climate. Home buyers and sellers are readying themselves for an exciting spring market. Buyers are motivated by an attractive affordability environment, while more and more sellers are receiving near top dollar for their home. We've come a long way over the past 12 to 18 months but we're not there yet. Here's how February stacked up.

New Listings in the Milwaukee region decreased 17.2 percent to 1,769. Pending Sales were down 18.3 percent to 873. Inventory levels shrank 20.5 percent to 7,156 units.

Prices reached for the clouds. The Median Sales Price increased 7.9 percent to $150,000. Days on Market was down 7.7 percent to 108 days. Absorption rates improved as Months Supply of Inventory was down 33.8 percent to 5.7 months.

A few consumers may feel less confident due to Washington's latest self-inflicted crisis. Others would advise not to read the news in the first place. The fact is, the economy continues to grow, but at a snail's pace. Sequestration is more of a nuisance than a real threat to recovery; and there's significant pent–up demand from renters, first-timers, parents' basementers and investors to counteract it.

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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