For the second straight month the number of homes for sale has risen in Wisconsin.
The report from the Wisconsin Realtors Association released Monday found home inventory rose 3.4 percent last month compared to the same time last year.
Two straight months of increases, after more than a year of declining inventory, could mean the state’s issues with housing supply may be easing, says David Clark of Marquette University
“These are peak months for closing on homes,” Clark said. “To see some improvement in inventories, even in those high-volume months, is a suggestion that maybe we have turned the corner a little bit.”
Clark said the limited supply of homes for sale has been driving up prices.
The median price of an existing home in July stood at $192,900, up 7.5 percent from July 2017.
Rising home prices, he said, can motivate homeowners to sell.
“We’ve seen pretty consistent upward movement in prices, and the increase in prices has put some incentive for new sellers to list their homes,” Clark said.
While inventory rose in July, sales of existing homes dropped about 3 percent last month compared to July 2017.
Home sales from January through July are down about 3 percent from the same period last year.