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Wisconsin sales hit record levels

Source: Chicago Tribune
Associated Press
May 21, 2006

Gains Made in All Regions of the State

MILWAUKEE – Wisconsin home resales rose to record first-quarter levels this year, bucking a national trend of sales declines, according to two real estate agent organizations.

The state's sales volume increased 3.5 percent to 30,525, and the median price rose 3.6 percent to $158,200, the Wisconsin Realtors Association has said.

That's in contrast to a 2.1 percent decline in sales volume nationwide and a median price of $217,900, according to the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors.

"It's a balancing act, but so far a stronger economy has more than offset the dampening effect of rising interest rates," said Marquette University economist David E. Clark.

The strengthened economy is due in part to the 30,000 new jobs statewide, said Jeff Kitchen, chairman of the Wisconsin Realtors Association. He predicted the Wisconsin market would remain strong "for the foreseeable future."

Wisconsin is less likely than the East and West Coasts to face a "real estate bubble" in which fast-rising prices eventually exceed the actual value of homes, risking a crash when prices fall to more realistic levels, said Timothy Riddiough, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Real Estate.

"The coasts have more volatility in their transactions. They go up faster than us, and go down faster. We tend to a slow, steady upward trend," he said. "If everything goes well -- interest rates don't rise too fast and the economy stays strong -- we'll get through this fast run-up in prices without any bubble popping."

Sales volumes were up in every region of Wisconsin in the first quarter, from 1 percent in the west to 13.5 percent in the central part of the state, according to association sales figures.

Median home prices range from $256,200 in Waukesha County to $65,000 in Adams County.