June 2012 Market Update
Welcome to the Market Update, our monthly examination of South Central Wisconsin’s residential real estate market. This report uses market-wide data based on transactions that closed in June of 2012 and compares them to closings that took place during the same months over the past three years. Closings typically occur eight to 12 weeks after a contract is signed; for that reason, the sales activity shown here reflects actual market conditions.
For twelve consecutive months, Dane County home sales have risen over the year before. For June,
combined sales of single family and condominium homes rose more than 27% and for the first half of
2012 are 21% ahead of 2011. All eight counties within the SCWMLS primary region are also ahead of last
year – not only for the month but also year-to-date. For all reported residential sales, the SCWMLS is
ahead 25% in June and 21% for the first six months.
While sales continue to rise, inventories continue to decline – both for single family homes and
condominiums. The months supply of single family homes in Dane County now stands at just over 7
months while condominiums come in at 14 months. For the 8 county regional, the combined months
supply is 9.7, down from 10.03 in May and 14+ months one year ago. As we stated previously, six
months supply is generally considered to be balanced between sellers and buyers.
Median prices for single family sales in Dane County were 2% below June of 2011 and 3% lower over the most recent twelve month period when compared to the twelve months prior. The median price for
condominiums in June was actually slightly ahead and now is 4.6% below the year-to-year comparison.
Cash sales fell for the second month in a row while the use of conventional financing rose slightly. We
will be watching the effect in the market of the recent announcement from WHEDA expanding its home
ownership program to remove the requirement that borrowers be ‘first-time” home buyers. This
program could be of assistance particularly to those potential purchasers – whether existing home
owners or first-time buyers – who do not have a substantial down payment.
One other statistic we began collecting last month – the percentage of sales reported to the SCWMLS
that are short sales or REO sales – may also help us understand where we might be in the process of
recovery in our housing market. In May, 13.2% of the total sales in Dane County were either a short sale
or REO. In June, with almost 200 more sales than the previous month, this figure dropped slightly to
12.2%.
Favorable factors continue in the marketplace – extraordinary affordability due to extraordinary low
interest rates and moderate prices. June showing requests in 2012 were 49% higher than one year ago –
a positive indicator of continued activity. Now if we could only get some rain!
We will be examining these statistics in further detail over the next week in a series of blog posts. Until then, download our Market Update, our monthly examination of South Central Wisconsin’s residential real estate market. We believe this guide will be a useful tool for you you, providing local statistics, industry insight, and buyer and seller tips.
Category: Industry News
