2018 metro area home sales fall; prices rise

Shortage exists in $300,000-or-less range

Amid a shortage of houses in the $300,000-or-less price range in suburban Milwaukee, sales of existing homes in the metro area slipped 1.4 percent last year, a report released Monday shows.

At the same time, average sale prices rose compared with 2017 in most municipalities in the four-county metropolitan area, according to data from the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors.

Although home sales were down a little from the previous year, Mike Ruzicka, president of the local Realtors organization, characterized 2018 as a strong year.

“If we had more inventory under $300,000, we’d have another 4,000 sales,” Ruzicka said Monday.

Altogether, 21,060 homes were sold last year in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties, Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors figures show. That compared with 21,357 in 2017.

Sales dropped in each county: Milwaukee, 0.3 percent, to 11,793 from 11,828; Ozaukee, 5 percent, to 1,323 from 1,393; Washington, 3.9 percent, to 2,054 from 2,138; and Waukesha, 1.8 percent, to 5,890 from 5,998.

The average price rose in about 80 percent of Milwaukee’s more than 70 suburban municipalities as well as the city of Milwaukee. Days on the market fell in almost every community.

In Milwaukee County, the 2018 average sale price was $188,197, or 6.9 percent higher than $176,012 in 2017. The average sale price in Ozaukee County last year was $353,184, up 6.6 percent from $331,171. In Washington County, the average price of $260,183 was 9.9 percent more than $236,807, and in Waukesha County, the average sale price increased 3 percent, to $330,716 from $321,224.

Ruzicka said in his report that the metropolitan area has enjoyed a strong sales market since the beginning of 2015. The influx of first-time buyers — accounting for roughly 40 percent of the market — empty nesters

downsizing, historically low interest rates and a strong regional job market all have provided fuel for a hot market, Ruzicka said.

With the Federal Reserve looking far into the future in an attempt to keep the economic boom going, interest rates probably will rise to more than 5 percent in 2019, Ruzicka said, adding that should be a constraint on the demand side of the market.

“The fire sale we had on interest rates and money over the last 10 years is probably over,” Ruzicka said.

Ruzicka said 2019 appears to be starting out with a “normal winter market,” with fewer first-time buyers and downsizing baby boomers scouting for houses right now.

Realtor Pete Stefaniak, of Milwaukee’s The Stefaniak Group, agreed, saying, “I would call it a typical January market.”

But that doesn’t mean there’s a dearth of activity, especially with a mild winter so far.

“Right after January 2nd or 3rd, the phones start ringing. People start making inquiries,” Stefaniak said. “They’re curious. ‘What should I do to make my home more saleable?’ ‘What should I do to get the most value out of my home if

Home sales slipped 1.4 percent in the metro Milwaukee area last year. This house in Brookfield currently is listed for sale.

I’m going to sell it here in the next couple of months?’ I had three of them today.”

Stefaniak said he expects inventory to loosen up as we head into midwinter.

“I think it’s going to be another strong year in residential real estate,” he said.

Here is a look at price changes in communities where the most sales took place in 2018 in each county: Milwaukee County

❚ Milwaukee, average price $146,312, up 6.9 percent from $136,826 in 2017.

❚ West Allis, $148,874, up 8.7 percent from $136,900.

❚ Wauwatosa, $266,543, up 7.4 percent from $248,088.

❚ Greenfield, $192,040, up 3.4 percent from $185,771.

❚ Franklin, $266,295, up 2.8 percent from $258,927.

Ozaukee County

❚ Mequon, $469,960, down 0.2 percent from $471,072.

❚ Cedarburg, $386,317, up 8.3 percent from $356,654.

❚ Grafton, $312,053, up 15.6 percent from $269,839.

❚ Port Washington, $257,405, up 12 percent from $229,790.

❚ Saukville, $254,077, up 12.5 percent from $225,841.

Washington County

❚ West Bend, $221,681, up 8.7 percent from $203,923.

❚ Hartford, $233,398, up 9.2 percent from $213,667.

❚ Germantown, $276,566, up 8.8 percent from $254,237.

❚ Richfield, $390,674, up 11.1 percent from $351,535.

❚ Slinger, $249,648, up 7 percent from $233,293.

Waukesha County

❚ Waukesha, $238,055, up 3.4 percent from $230,333

❚ Brookfield, $358,623, up 3.5 percent from $346,598

❚ Menomonee Falls, $311,984, up 5.4 percent from $296,000

❚ New Berlin, $275,287, up 2.1 percent from $269,680

❚ Oconomowoc, $360,929, up 6.2 percent from $339,878