The Milwaukee Post

14 • Milwaukee County Post • May 16, 2014 Area home sales behind 9.9% from a year ago By DWAYNE BUTLER Post Editor MILWAUKEE – April home sales were behind 9.9 percent com- pared with the same month a year ago in the four-county metropoli- tan Milwaukee real estate market, according to data released Monday by the Metropolitan Listing Service, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors. The region, which includes Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties, posted a better rate than the 14.6 decline in March. The region sold 1,420 homes in April compared with 1,576 in April 2013. The data includes single family, two-family and multifamily homes, and condominiums. Milwaukee County was just 6.9 percent behind a year ago. In com- parison, Waukesha County was 10 percent behind, Washington County 15.8 percent behind and Ozaukee County 22 percent behind. "Sales in April were among buyers who performed a bulk of the purchase tasks in the previous two months. Some of those tasks involved touring houses, making a decision on a particular home, submitting an offer to a buyer, negotiating and agreeing upon a price, and, finally, setting a sale date in April. So, the bitter winter weather could have had a sup- pressing effect on prospective sales," a GMAR news release said. Nonetheless, the GMAR says brokers do not seem to be too con- cerned about a long-term trend despite four consecutive months of negative sales data. "In fact, they're very bullish on the market. With agents busy helping prospective buyers and many reports of multiple offers on properties, 2014 looks like a solid year," a release said. Buyers saw more choices in April 2014 as the number of list- ings in the market grew 8 percent, thanks to Milwaukee County's healthy 12.1 percent rise. Waukesha County had 5.8 percent more listings than a year ago, and Ozaukee County 4.3 percent. Washington County was down 4.4 percent. The inventory level for April was 7.5 months, slightly above March's 6.7-month level, a GMAR release said. If the 2,046 listings with an active offer are subtracted from current listings of 9,546, the inventory level stood at 5.2 months, an improvement from the 4.8 months registered in March, it added. "Market conditions were gen- erally good in April. Interest rates, home prices, availability of listings and active buyers were all favorable. However, there are a few factors providing drag on a more robust market, such as high student debt, lack of new con- struction and tight availability of mortgages," a release said. Contact Dwayne Butler dbutler@conleynet.com Agency: Despite negative data, brokers remain optimistic Photo by Charles Auer/Conley News Service Home sales continue to be behind last year's pace. MILWAUKEE – Want to avoid breaking the bank on liv- ing expenses? Milwaukee County offers some affordable options, according to a recent study by Movoto Real Estate. Movoto, a national online real estate brokerage, found that four of its top 20 affordable places to live in Wisconsin fall within Milwaukee County. The Village of Brown Deer ranked 12th as the most afford- able place to live in Wisconsin, according to Movoto. The rank- ing was based on miscellaneous costs, which includes things such as restaurants, shopping, repairs and entertainment, according to Movoto. To compile the list of most affordable places to live, Movoto first narrowed it by only includ- ing cities that had populations of 10,000 or more, based on the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau. The brokerage firm then took the 86 cities that qualified and used six criteria to rank each town, which included cost of food, cost of utilities, miscel- laneous cost of living, median home price, unemployment rate and adjusted median household income. According to Movoto, it then averaged those scores to deter- mine the rankings. Glendale ranked 14th, Franklin 15th and Oak Creek 17th in the top 20 list. Rounding out the list were South Milwaukee (22nd), Greenfield (tied for 24th), Whitefish Bay (27th), Wauwatosa (31st), West Allis (tied for 32nd), Cudahy (tied for 34th), Greendale (39th), Shorewood (tied for 41st) and Milwaukee (tied for 44th). Pewaukee, located in Waukesha County, ranked first overall. www.movoto.com – Kirsten Klahn, Special to The Post (Post Editor Dwayne Butler contributed to this story.) Study: County has four municipalities in top 20 for affordable places to live Post Staff MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Council will team up with The Salvation Army of Milwaukee County for the association's annual Tour of Remodeled Homes scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. Tour attendees can receive $2 off the reg- ular admission price of $7 when they bring two nonperishable food items to the first location they visit. The food items will be donated to The Salvation Army of Milwaukee County. The tour runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days and features 21 recently completed and remodeled home improvement projects from Milwaukee/NARI contractors throughout the area. The completed renvoation projects are at the following locations: ■ Second-story master suite addition, 5108 N. Idlewild Ave., Whitefish Bay ■ Kitchen remodel, 2047 N. 85th St., Milwaukee ■ Kitchen, family room and bathroom renovations, 10327 N. Versailles Court, Milwaukee ■ Kitchen remodel, 18345 Midland Place, Brookfield ■ Whole-house remodel, 5830 N. Shore Drive, Whitefish Bay ■ Kitchen remodel, 2930 N. Marietta Ave., Whitefish Bay ■ Two-story addition, 4512 N. Cramer St., Whitefish Bay ■ Kitchen remodel, 1980 Jan Ave., Waukesha ■ Interior and exterior whole-house remodel, 7069 Darnell Lane, Greendale ■ Master suite and family room addition, 5011 N. Idlewild Ave., Whitefish Bay ■ Master bath addition, 9021 N. Greenvale Road, Bayside ■ Kitchen and powder room remodel, W327-N3883 Wooded Lane, Delafield ■ Kitchen and two bathrooms remodel, W232 S6113 Charles Drive, Waukesha ■ Family room and mudroom addition with kitchen and powder room remodel, 7813 Mary Ellen Place, Wauwatosa ■ Whole-house remodel, 18155 Kestrel Court, Brookfield ■ Kitchen, laundry, mudroom and pow- der room remodel, 21340 Talbots Lane, Brookfield ■ Kitchen remodel, 13120 Dunwoody Drive, Elm Grove ■ Kitchen remodel, 13145 Dunwoody Drive, Elm Grove ■ Basement remodel, 6119 W. Wisconsin Ave., Wauwatosa ■ Whole-house remodel, 3911 E. Klieforth Ave., Cudahy ■ Full first-floor remodel, W175-S7217 Lake Drive, Muskego. Tickets are $4 in advance and $7 at the door of the projects. They can be purchased between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Council office, 11815 W. Dearbourn Ave., in Wauwatosa. For more information, call 771-4071 or visit www.milwaukeenari.org. Attendees can receive discount with donation to Salvation Army Milwaukee/NARI's Tour of Homes this weekend

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