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Low Interest Rates Keep Housing Market Solid in
Wisconsin
Date: August 13, 2001
For More Information Contact: David E. Clark,
Economist, C3 Statistical Solutions Inc. 262-549-4992
Madison - Low interest rates and steady consumer demand has kept Wisconsin's housing market strong, according to the most recent report from the Wisconsin REALTORSŪ Association (WRA) on the statewide home resale market.
Second quarter sales of existing homes in Wisconsin for 2001 totaled an estimated 32,700 units - a 7.2% increase over second quarter sales from last year. Nationally, homes sales over the same period were up 3.2%. The Midwest region also saw an increase of 3.5% over 2000's second quarter totals.
"It appears interest rate reductions by the Federal Reserve Board are having their intended effect," said WRA President Joan Seramur, pointing out conventional 30-year fixed rate mortgages have fallen to the low 7% range in the last several months. According to the Realtors' report, interest rates combined with a relatively tight statewide labor market has pushed home sales up in most regions of the state. "While some parts of the economy have shown certain signs of weakness, the housing market in Wisconsin remains solid both from a buyers' and sellers' perspective" said
Seramur.
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Year over year percentage changes in Multiple Listing Service sales for the second quarter 2001 (as compared to Q2 2000) reveal continued growth in many of the counties in the southeast and south central regions of the state. The south central region grew the fastest of all regions within the state.
The four-county Milwaukee metro area was only up about 3% due to lower growth rates in the large counties of Milwaukee and
Waukesha. The Northeast region was virtually unchanged. Finally, the more rural northern and central regions of Wisconsin were both significantly off their Q2 2000 pace significantly (-18.6% in the North and -5.2% in the Central region).
| Southeast Wisconsin |
Increases in: |
Kenosha County +17%
Washington County +17%
Milwaukee County +1.9%
Waukesha County +1.6% |
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Decreases in: |
Sheboygan County -5.7%
Walworth County -8%
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| South-central Wisconsin |
Increases in: |
Dane County +8%
Rock County +12.5%
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| Northeast Wisconsin |
Increase in: |
Brown County +5.1%
Waupaca County +7.9% |
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Decreases in: |
Outagamie County -2.1%
Winnebago County -6.8%
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| Western Wisconsin |
Increases in |
LaCrosse County +10.2%
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WRA President William Malkasian says trends from the first half of the year could result in a near record year for housing sales. "If the combined first and second quarter sales pace continues, Wisconsin could top 110,000 or 115,000 units for the year, which could be record setting." But Malkasian cautioned, "While the numbers are great, it's too early to be predicting year end performance."
A comparison of median prices reveals that statewide, sale prices are up 6.6% over the second quarter last year, rising from $119,200 in Q2 2000 to $127,100 in Q2 2001. "Care must be taken in the interpretation of changes in median prices since these changes may indicate that similar homes are selling at higher prices, or they may imply a shift in home sales to properties in the higher range of the home price distribution" Malkasian noted. Sales prices were up by more than 5% in all regions except the central part of the state where they were up 3.1%. Prices rose nearly 7% in the southeastern part of the
state. The south central part of the state also experienced solid gains in housing prices in the second quarter (as compared to the same period last year), with prices up 6.3%
regionwide. The northeastern part of the state rose nearly 6% in Q2 2001 over Q2
2000. The Western region grew at 5.3%.
| Southeast Wisconsin Region
Up nearly 7% |
Increases in: |
Kenosha County +5.5% to
$126,000
Milwaukee County +8.8% to $111,800
Racine County +7% to $118,300
Sheboygan County +21.1% to $110,700
Walworth County +10.7% to $136,000
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| South-central Wisconsin
Region Up 6.3% |
Increases in: |
Columbia County + 6.7% to
$125,300
Dane County +6.4% to $157,900
Rock County +5.7% to $103,300
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| Northeast Wisconsin Region
Up 6% |
Increases in: |
Brown County +7.3% to
$125,000
Fond du Lac County +13.7% to $108,400
Outagamie County +6.9% to $114,700
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| Western Wisconsin Region
Up 5.3% |
Increases in: |
Eau Claire County +9% to
$113,800
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The Wisconsin REALTORSŪ Association is one of the largest trade associations in the state, representing over 12,000 real estate brokers, sales people and affiliates statewide.
*Note: Sales estimates for the state are provided by the National Association of
REALTORSŪ which seasonally adjusts quarterly sales figures.
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