January started well for the housing market, with healthy buyer demand and strong market fundamentals. A robust increase in housing starts in December points to an active year for new construction. Still, higher material costs, especially lumber, and a limited supply of buildable lots will temper the number of new units.
FIND THE JANUARY 2021 REPORTS HERE
New Listings in the Milwaukee region decreased 18.2% to 1,249. Closed Sales increased 4.4% to 1,025. Inventory levels fell 14.0% to 2,301 units.
Prices continued to gain traction. The Median Sales Price increased 12.7% to $248,000. Days on Market was down 25.0% to 33 days. Sellers were encouraged as Months Supply of Inventory was down 17.6% to 1.4 months.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s January research estimates approximately 2.7 million homeowners with mortgages are currently in forbearance plans. Some of these homes may eventually come to market. But given the strong appreciation in most market segments in recent years, these eventual home sales are likely to be mostly traditional sellers. However, a modest increase in short sales and foreclosures at some point this year would not be surprising.
All data for the market reports comes from the Multiple Listing Service, Inc. and is powered by ShowingTime. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and should reflect only on trends that affect real estate economics.