April was another good month for home sales in Wisconsin, with the state continuing a ten month streak of seeing a double digit increase in homes sold. Sales in April were up 19.5 percent over the same month in 2011, with just over 5,200 closings.
Wisconsin Realtors Association President Mike Theo says prices also rose for the second month in a row, up 2.4 percent to a median price of $128,000. While there’s only two months of data to rely on, he’s hopeful it’s a trend that will carry over into the summer months, which is traditionally the busiest time of year for the industry.
Sales in the state saw a steady drop in the first half of 2011 when compared to 2010 because of the expiration of a federal tax credit for first time buyers. The credit caused sales to spike during the early months of 2010, which also drove down sales for the rest of that year.
Each region of the state saw an increase in sales last month, including an almost 40 percent jump in the metro Milwaukee. The smallest increase was in the south central region, which saw sales go up by just under 10 percent.
Theo says they’ve heard from realtors across the state that homes have been moving at a brisk pace, and they hope that will continue to pick up this summer.
AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:11)