Wisconsin's 'Tug of War': As Economy Improves, House Prices Go Up

WISCONSIN — After relatively flat sales through the first two months of 2017, existing home sales rebounded sharply in March, pushing first quarter sales and prices well above their levels last year, according to the most recent analysis of sales by the Wisconsin Realtors Association.

According to the WRA, housing affordability has fallen over the last year, due primarily to rising mortgage rates and rising home prices.

“We’ve really got a tug of war going on with higher prices and higher mortgage rates pulling affordability down, even as rising incomes serve to improve affordability,” said Theo.

March 2017 Housing Data:

According to the WRA, March home sales were 7.2 percent higher than those of March 2016. Continued tight inventories pushed the median prices for March up 5.2 percent to $163,000 over the past 12 months.

For the first quarter, existing home sales increased 3.2 percent compared to that quarter in 2016, and median prices were up 6.4 percent to $159,575 over that same period.

This represents the strongest level of March sales and the strongest first quarter sales seen in the state since the WRA recalibrated its system of tracking home sales in 2005.

“Tight supply combined with strong demand conditions is a recipe for higher prices, and that’s what we’re seeing moving into the spring and summer housing markets,” said WRA President and CEO Michael Theo.

The statewide labor market continues to improve, with the March seasonally adjusted unemployment rate now at 3.4 percent, down from 4.1 percent this time last year.

patch file photo