Milwaukee Home Sales
June 2014 home sales were very strong, with title companies and
lenders increased in the last couple days of the month. May 2014 home sales had
dropped slightly compared to those of the previous May, however, the median
home sale prices increased by 3.8% over the same period.
What’s happening in the Milwaukee
real estate market? Yes, prices are going up. Yes, lenders are getting more
difficult to work with. Yes, great deals are harder to find. Yes, listings are
getting multiple offers or selling quickly. Yes, good inventory is limited.
Lending changes from the first of the year have been taking their toll with
buyers. They have caused a large number of closing deadlines to get pushed back
and have even killed deals. Be careful who you use as a lender. It’s not the
representative that causes the problems in most cases; it is the lending
institutions and their guidelines/underwriting. Sometimes, we don’t even know
until the day before or day of closing if the property will close. Working with
qualified and established lenders and a realtor
to the Milwaukee area are a must. It’s highly recommended to go beyond just
getting pre-qualified, but to get pre-approved as well.
Where is the Milwaukee
real estate market going? Good question. All it takes is to look at the
current market and the trends of the last 6-12 months. Buyers are seeing the
changing market and taking advantage of the low interest rates before they rise.
Sellers are beginning to benefit from this market,
as increasing prices make sense for them to consider selling.
Here are a few simple ownership advantages that are not going
away:
1) You are paying for housing whether you rent or own.
2) There are substantial tax benefits to owning.
3) Owning is usually a form of forced savings, especially in an
upward market.
4) Owning is a hedge against inflation.
5) Housing is typically the one leveraged investment that is still
available.
To expand on the first takeaway, we are finding that a purchase
price of $200,000- $250,000 is generally the equivalent of renting, depending of
course on the property taxes or condo fees. If there are cost savings, such as
a tax saving or increase in value, you may not see that right away, but value
is there. That is why it is always a good exercise to do a calculation and
compare.
It the cost saving such as tax saving or increase in value you
will not see right away.
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Milwaukee real estate market -- http://move2milwaukee.com/faq/
Realtor
to the Milwaukee area -- http://move2milwaukee.com/