The month of July saw home sales in Wisconsin rebound, after numbers were down for the first half of the year. Just over 5,100 homes sold in the Badger State last month, up 34-percent from July of 2010.
Wisconsin Realtors Association President Bill Malkasian says the increase is welcome, but was largely expected. He says numbers were projected to increase now that the state is outside of the period influenced last year by the first time home buyer’s tax credit.
The credit expired in June of 2010, but it dragged down monthly numbers for the second half of last year because many buyers moved up purchase dates to take advantage of the federal program.
While sales were up, the statewide median price for homes sold dropped 5.9-percent. Regionally, the smallest drop in the median was in northeastern Wisconsin with 2.5-percent, while central Wisconsin saw the biggest drop at 13.7-percent. Malkasian says several factors, such as the type of properties sold, have a big impact on the median price.
Overall, he says the housing market is strong right now and record low interest rates should help motivate buyers.