Milwaukee

Even while the pace of home price acceleration normalizes, housing has shown recent signs of ongoing strength. Both housing starts and future building permits are on the rise nationally. Inventory levels are increasing in most metro areas, driven higher by rising prices and more confident sellers. Homes are still selling quickly and for close to or even above list price.

New Listings in the Milwaukee region increased 1.3 percent to 1,858. Pending Sales were down 22.5 percent to 946. Inventory levels rose 1.3 percent to 7,929 units.

Prices continued to gain traction. The Median Sales Price increased 7.6 percent to $185,000. Days on Market was down 2.0 percent to 80 days. Buyers felt empowered as Months Supply of Inventory was up 6.0 percent to 6.1 months.

Interest rates remain attractive, even as Federal Reserve banter is finally hinting that quantitative easing is reaching its fateful conclusion. Capital markets have exhibited some volatility, but ultimately it's all about earnings and growth, and corporate earnings have been encouragingly strong, while private job gains have recently exceeded expectations.

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