June is traditionally the strongest month of the year for home sales but that trend didn’t hold true this time in Wisconsin. According to figures from the Wisconsin Realtors Association, sales of existing homes turned down sharply last month while prices continued to rise at well above the rate of inflation. Home sales here in Manitowoc County declined by almost 10 percent from 101 in June 2018 to 91 last month. The median price for homes sold in the county also fell by nearly 7-percent, from $125,000 a year ago to $116,500.
WRA Chairman Jean Stefaniak said, “Normally, a strong economy and low mortgage rates produce solid sales growth, but our persistent lack of homes for sale kept June (figures) well below last year’s levels.” The strong demand for housing was fueled in part by record-setting low unemployment rates of just 2.8 percent for both April & May.
