January 2018

Last year, U.S. consumers seemed to be operating with a renewed but cautious
optimism. The stock market was strong, wages were edging upwards and
home buying activity was extremely competitive. Not much has changed in
2018 in terms of those measures, yet there is a sort of seasoned prudence
mixed into the high emotions that go with a major expense like a home
purchase. We are now several years deep into a period of rising prices and low
inventory. Those in the market to buy a home have caught on. As sellers
attempt take advantage of rising prices, expect buyers to be more selective.

New Listings in the Milwaukee region decreased 5.4 percent to 1,459. Pending
Sales were down 51.5 percent to 514. Inventory levels fell 6.4 percent to 3,836
units.

Prices were fairly stable. The Median Sales Price held steady at $184,950. Days
on Market was down 12.3 percent to 64 days. Sellers were encouraged as
Months Supply of Inventory was down 4.0 percent to 2.4 months.

Whatever external forces are placed upon residential real estate markets across
the country - whether they are related to tax legislation, mortgage rates,
employment situation changes, new family formations, the availability of new
construction and the like - the appetite for home buying remains strong enough
to drive prices upward in virtually all markets across the country. New sales are
not necessarily following that trend, but monthly increases are expected until at
least late summer.



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:    Metro MLS Market Updates    or visit  www.metromls.com .

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and should reflect only on trends that affect the economics of real estate.

Please contact your respective MLS with any questions. You may also follow our updates at  http://twitter.com/metromls.

Metro MLS members can call the Help Desk at 414-778-5450 or email support@metromls.com.