Home Sales and Prices Improve for First Half of 2012

On July 23rd, the Wisconsin REALTORS® Association (WRA) released home sales information for the month of June 2012 and for January - June 2012. Trends in St. Croix County and in the Greater St. Croix Valley (Pierce, Polk, St. Croix, and Dunn counties) follow an improving pattern in WRA’s "west" region and across the state.

WRA-assisted sales in June 2012 totaled 149 homes in St. Croix compared to 85 one year ago (+75.3% increase). The median price of homes sold in St. Croix in June 2012 is estimated at $150,000 compared to $145,000 a year ago (+3.4% increase). Polk County had the second-most activity in the St. Croix Valley in June with 85 sales, followed by 53 sales in Dunn and 52 in Pierce. Pierce has the second-highest median sales price in June at $145,000, followed by Polk’s median price of $117,659, and $117,000 in Dunn.

Year-to-date (January - June 2012) sales in St. Croix have increased 36.1% over 2011 (600 sales v. 441) but the 2012 year-to-date median price is less than one percent above the 2011 median price ($139,912 v. $139,000). Polk has 345 sales in 2012 compared to 274 in 2011 (+25.9%). Dunn has 223 year-to-date sales in 2012 compared to 212 a year ago (+5.2% increase). Year-to-date sales in Pierce total 184 which is the same as one year ago. Pierce has the second-highest year-to-date median price in 2012 at $131,625 (+0.5% over 2011 estimates), followed by Dun’s median price of $119,000 (+3.0% over 2011) and $94,900 in Polk (-1.1% decline from 2011).

Rob Keefe, chairman of the WRA board of directors pointed out that 42 percent of home sales in Wisconsin take place between May and August in a normal seasonal pattern and June is the most active month. Keefe said about 12 percent of home sales take place in June and WRA’s estimates for June 2012 are no exception. Sales in all of WR