Real Estate Update for the 1st Quarter of our Milwaukee Market

There are many great Milwaukee area homes for sale. Click here to perform full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here top contact us for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (262) 797-6453 or (262) 798-1162 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

First Quarter Real Estate Market Update for Milwaukee

As April comes to a close, I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to explain what has happened in our greater Milwaukee market in regards to real estate. 

After researching some MLS statistics, it was interesting to see that sales from 2013 to 2014 were actually down a little bit. In total, we have seen about a 10% decrease in sales in the Milwaukee area. 

Inventory has remained largely the same from last year, but it still remains relatively low with just a 3 month supply of homes. This lack of inventory is most pronounced in the suburban homes that are in the price range of $200-$400K. 

The good news is that homes are selling in every price range, even the high end homes. 

Interest rates also remain low, with some 15-30 year fixed rate plans as low as 3.75-4.5%. However, these are expected to go up to 5.5% by the end of the year, so now is your opportunity to buy a home affordably.

Because of the improving weather here in Milwaukee, you can expect to see 60% of all sales occur between the 2nd and 3rd quarter of this year. 

If you're thinking of selling, now would be the time to list your home because you can expect an increase of 20-25% in the number of listings available. If you're buying, there will be a lot of properties to choose from. 

If you have any questions about the Milwaukee real estate market or what you can do to capitalize when you're selling or buying, please contact us and we would be glad to help you.

Thanks for tuning in! Expect more updates throughout the year on our Milwaukee real estate market!

Are Your Property Taxes Too High?

Are Your Property Taxes Too High?

 As we head into the beginning of 2014, a question I usually get this time of year from clients who have either bought homes or are selling homes is, “How to I change or fight my real estate tax assessment?” They may think the assessment is either too high or too low. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as just calling the assessor in your city and town telling them your taxes are too high. They have specific scripts they’re going to give you on why they can’t change your taxes, and they’re pretty good at it!

What you actually have to do is make a formal adjustment and this is allowed in the beginning of the year. Most municipalities require you to do this before April and in some cases, March or May. What you want to do is call them and tell them you want to make a formal adjustment to your tax assessment. You will need to bring an independent appraisal that shows your tax assessment is too high or too low or some comparable sales of similar homes in your neighborhood. As a client watching this video, this is something we can help you with here at the Roth Team.

Speaking with personal experience, when you go into the formal meeting you have to show the city assessor the comparable sales. Another good basis for you is that if you have recently purchased the home within the last year or two, you can use the purchase price that you paid for the home as the basis. However you will still need comparable sales or an independent bank appraisal.

By doing that, you will get your tax assessment adjusted to today’s value which could decrease your taxes if the assessment goes down or raise your taxes if your assessment goes up (which I wouldn’t recommend). Again, to do this you want to make a formal adjustment with the local municipality.

If you have any questions about this, please give us a call at (262) 797-6453. Thanks and have a great day!

What Can You Expect in 2014?

As we’re headed into the 2014 real estate season, clients have been asking me about what they can expect with the prices and interest rates in the New Year. The good news is that in 2013, we saw prices go up. In most (not all) of the Greater Milwaukee Metro area, we saw 4-8% price increases. For our area, the experts are predicting 3-4% increases in price in 2014.

As for interest rates, rates are now 1% higher on 15 and 30 year fixed rate loans than they were a year ago; which is still very affordable! From what I can see, as prices go up, interest rates will also rise about 1% this year. Another factor that affects pricing is inventory levels. Right now, our inventory level is the lowest it’s been in 7-8 years. Back in 2010 in the Greater Milwaukee Metro Area, there were as many as 11,500 single family homes for sale which made for a 14 month supply of inventory. As of now, we’re down to 7,800 active listings with only a 8-8 ½ months of inventory. As inventory goes down, prices should go up.

If you’re thinking about selling, now would be a great time to do so. If you’re thinking about buying, you should do so sooner rather than later to catch interest rates before they rise. Whichever it may be, the Roth Team would love to help. Thanks and have a great day!