Housing Market Rebounds Slightly

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (02/09/07) Derus, Michele

Metro Multiple Listing Service data shows that the Milwaukee metro area recorded 971 home resales last month, which was 3.9 percent more than during the same month a year ago. That coincides with 3,355 new listings, a 4.8-percent increase over January 2006. Metro Multiple Listing Service's research covers Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Waukesha and Washington counties. The nation's five-year residential real-estate boom ended last year as supply mushroomed and demand dried up. Various studies show that home construction declined 17.3 percent nationwide and about 25 percent in the Milwaukee region. Existing-home sales, meanwhile, slumped 8.4 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively. Even Wisconsin's frigid temperatures have not been a major turnoff for prospective buyers in the early going of 2007. Terry Donahue, CEO of Prudential Absolute REALTORS in Oconomowoc, remarks, "People are writing offers. And if they're writing offers at 30 below, they've got to be committed."