Milwaukee

A house. It's the single largest investment most families make. It's where we rest our heads every night. Houses represent the brick and mortar that comprise the very communities in which we live. They provide us with a sense of place to extend our roots downward. We raise our families under the safety and warmth of their rooftops. Our houses become homes. Let's analyze these structures that are so much more than that, and let's take a look at how our home market began 2011.

Pending Sales in the Milwaukee region decreased 31.6 percent since January 2010 to 488 agreements signed. New Listing activity decreased 19.5 percent, which means sellers placed 1,966 new homes on the market. At this rate, they should expect their properties to sell after approximately 113 days.

Prices slid a bit. Median Sales Price decreased 4.5 percent from last January to $165,000. Negotiations moved toward buyers as Percent of Original List Price Received at Sale decreased to 88.2 percent. Months Supply of Inventory increased 12.4 percent to 10.3 months.

Interest rates are expected to remain around 5.0 percent and prices are expected to rise gradually in many markets. Although the labor department reported that the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 9.0 percent in January, expect joblessness to remain an issue. There's a steep, jagged rock face behind us; ahead lies a gently inclined grassy plain.

New Layout Design

Starting with this month, the market reports have a new layout design. They’ve been updated to make them cleaner, more modern, and easier to read. Housing supply data has been broken out into its own report with added detail. Please refer to the New Market Reports Guide, for more information.

You can follow this link: http://www.metromls.com/support/Market_Updates/index.html or visit www.metromls.com and select MLS Statistics under the MLS Admin menu. You will find other reports and statistics which may be of use to you in your business.

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