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Home sales in the Metropolitan Milwaukee market finished 2024 essentially flat from 2023. Although 2024 was 2.8% ahead of the prior year, that only amounted to 472 additional units.
Home sales over the last two years (16,586 and 17,058, respectively) have been well below the 20,000 unit threshold that is the floor for a normally functioning marketplace.
There may be some good news in the fact that December sales were up 15.2%, possibly indicating a more robust 2025 housing market.
Sales have been in a funk since mid-2022 when interest rates increased from historical lows to about 6%. That increase in rates caused sellers to pull back from putting their house up for sale – because for many moving would entail taking a mortgage with a higher rate.
With new construction down dramatically for years, there could not have been a worse time for would-be sellers to get out of the market. The double-whammy of insufficient construction and fewer listings resulted in fewer sales than would normally occur and many frustrated would-be homebuyers.
While listings in December and all of 2024 were up, 4.2% and 4.8%, respectively, the 21,297 units that were listed in 2024 are more than 5,000 units shy of what the market needs to reach equilibrium.
To read the full report and graphics, click here.
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