July 2021 Housing Market Update

NATIONALLY

• Summary: Nationally and regionally (in the Midwest), existing home sales and median sales prices increased in July 2021 compared to last year and last month.

The most recent Existing Home Sales Report, by the National Association of REALTORS®, was just released titled, “Existing-Home Sales Climb 2.0% in July,” (Quintin Simmons, August 23, 2021). The following bullet points are additional highlights from this release.

Existing-Home Sales

• “Existing-home sales rose in July, marking two consecutive months of increases, according to the National Association of Realtors®.”
• “The median existing-home price for all housing types in July was $359,900, up 17.8% from July 2020 ($305,600), as each region saw prices climb.”
• “Existing-home sales rose 2% on a seasonally adjusted annual rate from June to July, with no sales declines showing in any regions.”
• “According to Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 2.87% in July, marginally down from 2.98% in June. The average commitment rate across all of 2020 was 3.11%.”
• “Existing-home sales in the Midwest rose 3.8% to an annual rate of 1,380,000 in July, a 1.4% decline from a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $275,300, a 13.1% increase from July 2020.”

STATEWIDE

• Summary: In Wisconsin, home sales declined in July 2021, compared to July 2020; however, year-to-date existing home sales were up compared to this time last year. Additionally, median prices went up, and average days on market are down, year over year.

The Wisconsin REALTORS® Association, released their monthly market report with the headline, “Home Sales Moderate in July as Prices Continue to Rise.“ Here are some additional key takeaways:

July 2021 Home Sales Report

• “July 2021 home sales fell 14.2% relative to July 2020, and the statewide median price rose to $250,000 in July, an increase of 10.7% over the past 12 month”
• “On a year-to-date basis, sales are still in positive territory, with existing home sales up 3.9% for the first seven months of 2021 relative to that same period in 2020. Median prices are up 12.4% to $240,000 year to date.”
• “Total listings are 11.0% lower than 12 months earlier in July 2020, but this is a significant improvement compared to how the year began. Total January listings were 30.7% lower than a year earlier.”
• “Average days on the market dropped 27.8% compared to July 2020, falling from 90 days to just 65 days. This is the lowest level for days on the market since the WRA began tracking this data in January 2005. “

LOCAL MARKET

• Summary: In July 2021, our tri-county area (Kenosha, Racine & Walworth Counties) saw a decline in the number of closed sales and an increase in sales price compared to this time last year. While the number of new listings fluctuated across counties and municipalities, we clearly have more buyer demand than we have available housing.

Below are (1) the July 2021 Local Market Reports, by MetroMLS for the Counties of Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth, as well as the Lake Geneva-Delavan-Williams Bay areas; and (2) their monthly blog post called Market Reports: July 2021, by Dan Zielinski of FlexMLS, reflecting our hyperlocal multiple listing service area based out of Metro-Milwaukee.

MARKET REPORTS: JULY 2021

The sellers’ market continued in July, with the median sales price increasing while inventory levels and days on market decreased compared to last July.

New listings in the Milwaukee region increased 2% to 2,700. Closed sales decreased by 1.5% to 2,163. Inventory levels decreased 2.5% to 4,090 units.

Prices continued to gain traction. The median sales price increased 9% to $290,000. Days on Market was down 48.2% to 14 days. The months supply of inventory decreased 1% to 1.9 months.

by Dan Zielinski | Aug 16, 2021 | Metro MLS, FlexMLS