Sunday, August 09, 2009

The Business Journal of Milwaukee: Milwaukee area housing recovery? Sales increase in June, but it may be just a blip

I continue to see signs of a slow recovery in the housing market. In June, housing sales in the Milwaukee Metro increased over the same month period the year before. Many real estate professionals contribute this increase to the first-time home buyer tax credit.

I’m a real estate professional so naturally many consumers ask me about the state of the housing market. I immediately respond to inquiries by asking a question: What sub-market are you referring to? Bay View? North Shore? Wauwatosa? Elm Grove? Lake Country? Most consumers appreciate that real estate is very local and the market can be as different as the community. Are you asking about single-family homes? Condominiums? Investment properties? The type of ownership varies greatly within a single community.

Despite the overall increase in sales activity, not all sub-markets are seeing the same results. In another recent blog post titled “JSOnline.com: Tighter standards make getting condo loans more difficult”, I discuss how mortgage providers are making it more difficult for buyers to purchase condominium units. Mortgage providers are also making it more difficult to purchase non-owner-occupied investment properties (e.g. two-family, multi-family dwellings). Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have implemented stricter lending guidelines for investment properties and condominium units. These stricter guidelines generally mean buyers need to provide a larger down payment and be willing to borrow at higher interest rates.

Molly Newman, writer for The Business Journal of Milwaukee, provides additional statistics regarding the housing market and includes the opinions of other real estate professionals regarding the current housing market. Click here to read more about the state of the current housing market>>>


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posted by David Ray @ 7:01 PM

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