The strong pace of existing home sales in Wisconsin continued in April, with 10 straight months of double-digit sales growth, according to the latest report by the Wisconsin Realtors Association (WRA).
Home sales rose 19.5 percent in April 2012 compared with April 2011, according to the WRA.
Home prices were also up for the second straight month, rising 2.4 percent to $128,000 in April compared with a year ago.
“After several years of a stagnate housing market, it’s encouraging to see sustained growth in home sales, especially as we enter the summer, which is the prime season for home sales in the state,” said Rob Keefe, chairman of the WRA board of directors.
Keefe said all regions of the state saw their home sales rise by sizeable margins in April. Specifically, existing home sales rose 30.3 percent in the southeastern region of the state, followed by the central, north and west regions, which saw home sales grow in the range of 16.7 percent to 17.6 percent.
In southeastern Wisconsin home sales were up 30.3 percent but prices dipped 1.6 percent in April.
- Milwaukee County home sales were up 36 percent in April, but prices fell 5.3 percent to $89,950.
- Washington County home sales were up 60.3 percent in April, but prices fell 1.9 percent to $178,500.
- Waukesha County homes sales were up 39.1 percent in April and prices rose 2.1 percent to $215,000.
- Ozaukee County home sales were up 58.7 percent in April, but prices fell 13.5 percent to $207,500.
- Racine County home sales were up 6.1 percent in April and prices rose 9 percent to $114,500.
- Kenosha County home sales were down 2.8 percent in April and prices fell 5.3 percent to $111,713.
- Walworth County home sales were up 3.1 percent in April and prices rose 1.3 percent to $151,500.
- Sheboygan County home sales were up 38.5 percent in April and prices rose 14.5 percent to $117,500.
“We’ve been hearing from Realtors throughout the state that homes have been moving at a brisk pace, which bodes well for a strong summer of home sales,” Keefe said. “With 10 straight months of double-digit growth in Wisconsin home sales, I think it’s safe to say we’ve turned the corner on sales, and we’ve seen some preliminary signals that prices have begun to move upward,” said WRA president and CEO Michael Theo.
The statewide median price increased 2.4 percent in April 2012 compared to April 2011.
