The local housing market improved in February, but sales and new listings are still down compared with pre-pandemic norms.
There were 975 homes sold and 1,351 homes listed for sale last month in metropolitan Milwaukee, up 11% and 15%, respectively, compared with February 2023, according to the latest data from the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors (GMAR).
The metro area includes Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties. Most of the homes sold (619) and new listings (810) were in Milwaukee County, followed by Waukesha County.
The number of new listings was up for the seventh straight month, representing the longest run of increasing inventory in a decade, according to GMAR.
But given that 2023 was a slow year for area home sales due to spiking mortgage rates, metro Milwaukee is still short hundreds of listings needed to satisfy buyer demand, the group said, noting that the lack of supply is tamping down sales.
With demand for homeownership still higher than the number of homes available, the average home price in metro Milwaukee rose 8% year over year in February to hit $348,659, GMAR said.
Statewide, the housing market followed a similar pattern in February as sales rose 3% and the number of new listings jumped 21% year over year, according to data from the Wisconsin Realtors Association. The median home price across Wisconsin was up nearly 6% at $275,000.
“This bodes well for ongoing improvement in our inventory situation as we move into the peak sales period of late spring and summer,” WRA board chair Mary Jo Bowe said in a statement.
