Homes sales in Wisconsin were down for the fifth month in a row. Numbers released by the Wisconsin Realtors Association on Monday show the group’s members sold 6,970 homes in the Badger State last month, down from almost 7,500 homes sold during the same month in 2013.
Realtors’ board chairman Steve Lane says his group had expected a slight recovery in the sales figures, once the unusually long and cold winter ended, but that has not happened yet. “Even though last year was a strong year for sales, we expected a slight bounce in May sales as the prolonged winter ended,” said Lane. “But we haven’t seen that bounce yet.”
Lane points out that the state’s economy does appear to be steadily improving, with the unemployment rate dropping to 5. 7 percent in May and the addition of more than 38,000 jobs over the past year.
WRA president Michael Theo says rising home prices and interest rates might be a couple of reasons for the sales drop, along with tighter regulations on lending. The median sales prices jumped 3.8 percent last month, compared to a month ago. The median house statewide sold for $150,000.