Historically low housing inventory drives prices up, WRA says

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A new report from the Wisconsin Realtors Association (WRA) shows a historically low inventory of homes is driving prices up and keeping sales down. 

A Milwaukee realtor is urging buyers to be patient as listings across the state are down by more than 20% compared to March 2022.

There are 13,342 homes for sale across Wisconsin, according to WRA.

"Once new construction levels decreased, that really did begin to limit the number of housing stock that was available and that's when we began to see the shortage," Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors Chairwoman Angela Walters said.

WRA's March report said the shortage is contributing to a more than 23% fall in existing home sales and a nearly 7% increase in the median home price since March 2022. 

Walters said first-time buyers are most disadvantaged in this market, because entry level homes ranging between $125,000 and $350,000 are the hardest to find. 

"Whenever the prices go up, it's going to make the houses, you know, sort of out of reach for some buyers," Walters said.

WRA President and CEO Michael Thomas said inventory would need to increase by nearly 24,000 homes to balance the market at this current pace of sales.

Walters told CBS 58 that could take a couple of years, but she expects there might be slight improvement as the weather warms up. 

"Sellers are thinking of putting their house on the market right now because they know that typically the spring market is the height of the buying season for the year," Walters said.

Walters said when sellers do list their homes, they'll likely get more for them than they were anticipating.