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Madison - Fueled by historically low mortgage rates, home sales in Wisconsin grew by 5.7% in the third quarter of 2002 over the same period last year, according to the Wisconsin REALTORS® Association (WRA). A seasonally adjusted total of 26,550 homes were sold in the state between July and September, a growth rate that outpaced both the nation, which grew by 2.5%, and the Midwest region, which grew by 3.9% during the same period.

"Low interest rates have certainly helped maintain a robust housing market in Wisconsin and nationally," said Robert Weber, Chairman of the Board for the WRA. "Buyers today will find a 30 year fixed rate mortgage at just above 6 percent and a 15 year adjustable rate mortgage approaching 5 percent. Those are simply marvelous interest rates," Weber said.

Weber noted the Federal Reserve Board recently dropped a key short-term interest rate by 50 basis points, which surprised many analysts. "Hopefully, lower rates will eventually stimulate the macroeconomy as well," said Weber.

Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data for Wisconsin counties reveals sales in all areas of the state are above third quarter levels from one year ago. The strongest regional growth was in the South Central region where home sales were up 14.4% over Q3 2001. The strongest growth occurred in Jefferson County, which experienced a 31.5% increase over the same quarter last year. It is important to note that Jefferson County receives spillover growth from both the Madison and Milwaukee metropolitan areas. Dane County was also up significantly, growing 18.5%, and Green County grew an impressive 12% over last year. Other counties in the region experienced more modest growth, with Sauk County up 7% and Rock County up 1%. Columbia County actually fell slightly (-0.5%). 

While no other region of the state experienced double-digit growth, the Central region was close, growing 9.6% over Q3 2001. Within that region, Waushara County sales volume nearly doubled (up 45.5%) and Portage County increased 17.6%. The larger counties in the region grew more moderately (Marathon was up 5.9%) or fell slightly (Wood County fell 3.4%).

Southeast Wisconsin grew at 6.9% over Q3 2001, with the strongest growth posted in the counties outside the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Specifically, Kenosha County advanced 23.4%; Sheboygan County grew 14.4%; Walworth County grew 13.1% and Racine County increased 11.4%. The Milwaukee metropolitan area was up a modest 3.2% with the primary growth in Milwaukee County (+5.6%). Ozaukee County increased 1.5%, whereas Waukesha County was flat (+0.1%) and Washington County fell slightly (-0.5%).

The Northern region of the state experienced growth of 4.3% in Q3 2002 as compared to the same quarter last year, with some areas up substantially and others experiencing significant declines. Notable growth took place in Douglas (+19.4%), Polk (+18.4%) and Oneida (+15.4%) counties, and smaller growth levels were recorded in Burnett (+7.3%) and Barron counties (+2.5%). On the other hand, Washburn County home sales fell substantially (-57%) in Q3 2002, as did sales in Lincoln County (-44%) when compared to Q3 2001. Note that the both Lincoln and Washburn Counties experienced substantial price appreciation, which may account for the slide in sales volume.

The Northeast region was up 5.4% in Q3, with home sales in Calumet County advancing 17.6%. The relatively large counties in the area also experienced growth, with Winnebago County increasing 8.2%, Brown County up 4.8% and Outagamie County up slightly at 1.1%. Also growing was Waupaca County (+3.3%). Door County was unchanged, but Fond du Lac County fell 20% and Shawano was down 16.5% when compared to Q3 last year. 

Finally, the West region was nearly unchanged overall (+0.4%) but there was wide variation within the region. The counties close to the Twin Cities grew at a healthy pace with Pierce County increasing 15.9% and St. Croix County improving 8.7%. In addition, Eau Claire County was up 6.1%. However, La Crosse County fell a modest 4.6% and Chippewa County declined more substantially (-20.8% compared to Q3 2001).

Sales

WRA President William Malkasian noted that appreciation of housing prices was also healthy over this period, yet housing remained affordable in the state. According to the WRA statistics, the median housing price in Wisconsin rose 7.7% to $138,500 when compared to Q3 2001. "The Midwest's home prices are typically below that of other parts of the country. Thus, even with healthy price appreciation, housing in the region and Wisconsin remained within financial reach of working families," said Malkasian.

Median housing prices for the third quarter this year exceeded 2001 levels in all areas of the state. Prices in the Northern region rose 13% with very strong growth in median prices in Washburn County (+48.8% to $191,400) and Lincoln County (+35.7% to $116,000). Also strong were Oneida County (+16.6% to $145,000) and Douglas County (+12.5% to $112,500). More moderate median home price appreciation occurred in Polk (+8.4% to $139,000), Burnett (+6.2% to $137,100) and Barron counties (+5.4% to $104,600). 

The Northeast also enjoyed double-digit growth in median home prices in Q3 2002 as compared to that same quarter last year. Specifically, median prices in the region were up 10.4%, with healthy price appreciation in the larger counties in the area including Outagamie County (+20.7% to $130,800), Fond du Lac County (+18.3% to $115,00), Winnebago County (+11.1% to $110,000) and Brown County (+7.2% to $133,300). Prices were also higher in Calumet County (+7% to $146,200) as well as Shawano County, which had prices rise 3.1% to $90,000. Waupaca County was unchanged at $95,000 and Door County median prices fell 8.5% to $131,700 in Q3 2002 as compared to Q3 2001.

The South Central region, which enjoyed strong growth in sales Q3 2002 as compared to Q3 2001, also saw median prices increase 8.8% over the same period. Sauk County increased 10.1% to $124,000 whereas Dane County experienced median price appreciation of 9.9% to $177,300. Prices in Columbia County grew 4.8% to $132,300. Rock County realized only a slight increase in price (1.5% to $103,700) while Green County was unchanged at $106,700. Jefferson County, which experienced such strong growth in sales, actually had median home sale prices fall slightly (-0.4% to $134,700).

Both the West and Central regions grew at 6.2%, comparing Q3 2002 with that same quarter last year. In the West, the strongest growth was experienced in Chippewa County, which saw its median home sale price rise 21.8% to $116,900. LaCrosse County prices rose 10.6% to $116,500 and St. Croix County also enjoyed healthy median price appreciation (+8.7% to $176,900). Other counties that were up over the period were Pierce (+2.6% to $158,400) and Eau Claire (+2.2% to $121,100). In Central Wisconsin, the region was up in large part because of the median housing price growth in Marathon County (+9.2% to $114,700). Wood County also experienced growth (+4% to $85,600) but median prices fell slightly in Portage County (-2.8% to $110,800) and fell substantially in Waushara County (-15.7% to $90,000). The decline in the median priced homes in Waushara County likely contributed to the strong quarterly sales performance in the county. 

Finally, the Southeast region of the state saw prices increase 5.8% with most counties in the region seeing price increases in the 6%-8% range. An exception is Ozaukee County, which experienced median price appreciation of 19.6% (to $227,300) in Q3 2002 as compared to Q3 2001. Note that Ozaukee County experienced very little growth in sales over the same period, which may be related to the sizable increase in median prices. Other counties within the Milwaukee metropolitan area experienced solid growth in median prices, with Milwaukee County up 8.4% to $121,400; Washington County increasing 7.6% to $166,200 and Waukesha County rising 6.5% to $205,300. Walworth County rose 6.7% to $144,300; Racine was up 5.7% to $122,000; Kenosha was up 4.5% to $135,800 and Sheboygan increased 3% to $117,100.

Median Housing Price

The Wisconsin REALTORS® 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 REALTORS® which seasonally adjusts quarterly sales figures. All county figures on sales volume and median prices are compiled by the Wisconsin REALTORS® Association. 

Wisconsin Housing Statistics Online

Printable Copy of this Press Release

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