Your Real Estate Round-Up
It’s May and we are in the heat of the Spring real estate market. Despite the not so favorable national news, we are still doing very well here. It feels good to be the over-achiever!
The last quarter of 2022 tapered down a bit as the buyers adjusted to the “new normal” interest rates. As I write this article, 30-year fixed rates are around 6.0% on a conventional mortgage. There is no doubt that mortgage interest rates have increased but, by comparison, in 2006 the average 30-year fixed interest rates were around 6.4%. It’s been my experience that anything in a single digit is good. Who remembers 20% interest rates in 1980?
Wauwatosa specifically, is still a strong sellers’ market. There are fewer available houses for sale and high demand is continuing from buyers.
So, why is there still such low inventory? Some sellers understand it’s a great time to sell but are not willing to put their house on the market until they find suitable housing themselves, sort of a Catch-22. What comes first, the chicken or the egg? Sellers who bought in the last 10-13 years and have 2.99% mortgages have less of an appetite to move up to something larger and more expensive at 6.0%-plus rates. Other sellers are comfortable in the house they’ve lived in for decades and simply want to stay longer.
Buyers still have a tremendous desire to be in Wauwatosa for all the reasons we know. Outstanding location to parks, shopping, dining, downtown, and of course the great sense of community that’s immeasurable here. It’s also been my personal experience that it’s an amazing place to raise a family! I firmly believe that Wauwatosa is an above average place to raise your children.
Buyers continue competing with each other and they are writing incredible offers to be here because regardless of everything: life – still – happens. Buyers need to move due to jobs, schools, larger families, smaller families, illness, death, divorce, or to improve their quality of life…and there is no better place to do it than Wauwatosa.
Some buyers do show signs of fatigue due to the fierce competition but, when you’re working with an experienced agent, take their advice on how to get to the finish line first. If you’ve purchased or sold a house four years ago or more, throw that out the window, because it’s changed. Experience in today’s climate definitely matters!
The statics show that prices have continued to rise with sellers still selecting from multiple offers and overbids on well-maintained, prepared, and accurately priced homes. Three key components.
January 1st through May 1st this year, 44 houses listed at $400,000 or greater have successfully closed. Thirty-five (35) of the forty-four (44) houses that sold, closed at their list price or greater. According to a national real estate news source, the average list price of a single-family home in Wauwatosa is $357,400.
I’m looking forward to sunny days ahead and know you are too!
Thinking of selling? I’m happy to share my experience with you.
Jean M. Stefaniak
Real Estate Broker, Owner
The Stefaniak Group, LLC
A Family of Realtors since 1952
