"Fingers Crossed"

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (01/19/08) Cleaver, Joanne

Full-year results indicate that southeastern Wisconsin escaped the worst of 2007's residential property meltdown. Now, brokers note, pent-up demand is beginning to break logjams that have scuttled many prospective sales. Beth Jaworski, chairwoman of the Greater Milwaukee Association of REALTORS®, notes that January seems to have revived potential buyer interest in at least looking, if not buying. By contrast, she adds, December was so slow that "you wondered if your phone was working." Meanwhile, Milwaukee-based REALTOR® Kathleen Winkelmann says she and her colleagues are working harder than ever to craft incentives--through more generous commissions to buyer's brokers, for example--to grab attention for their home listings. In addition, asking prices are now written on Post-It notes, not labels, to account for fluctuating market conditions locally. Market data compiled by the Metro MLS and released earlier this month determined that average prices were essentially flat last year in Washington and Racine counties and eroded last year in Waukesha and Ozaukee counties. Milwaukee County reported a 4.9 percent increase in average sale price, due both to the rebounding popularity of close-to-downtown neighborhoods and to the influx of higher-end condos into the resale market.