We were very happy with the positive changes we experienced in the market as we worked our way through 2012. We knew good things were happening, but couldn’t quantify anything while we were in the middle of it. We saw buyers have more confidence in making offers on properties and we even saw multiple buyers become interested in the same property. That, fueled with extremely low interest rates, kept things rolling along. So after all was said and done, it was nice to be able to crunch the year-end numbers and quantify some of what we were feeling.
We weren’t just “feeling it”, it was real. The total sales results for our area in 2012 were 25% higher than 2011. It was a huge relief to see that kind of uptick after watching the numbers drop and drop and drop over the past few years. Hoorah! To clarify, it doesn’t mean our prices jumped, it means more properties sold. Prices only bumped up about 1%, but if the sales trend continues, our inventory should shrink and the scarcity should create an environment where prices will rise.
It’s also interesting to note that our area is very much in line with what happened state-wide according to the Wisconsin Realtors Association. Does that mean were normal or just average? That’s an excellent topic for a Friday night debate among close friends. https://www.wra.org/HSRDEC2012/
If we were betting folks, our money would be on 2013 being very much the same as 2012. If that’s what happens, it’s certainly not an unpleasant future! ~Wanda Boldon