Home sales up, realtors not satisfied

Buyers becoming pickier,
demand dwindling

A banner year of sales for homes in Wisconsin was not without some difficulties for those in the market.

New numbers Monday from the state realtors association show an 11-percent gain in homes sales statewide last year over the year before. That increase was just over 10 percent in La Crosse County.

“The fact that the inventory was a little bit (in) short supply, if you will, so the selection for home buyers was a little less,” President of the La Crosse Area Realtors Association Chuck Olson said. “I think that that was a little bit more challenging.”

Olson says that lack of desirable homes for sale continues to be the biggest challenge entering 2016, as well.

“It was by no means on cruise control,” Olson said. “It was a situation where people had to be on their game, because something they may have decided to buy could sell fast.”

So, while those moving real estate were doing well, things could have been better. Local realtors aren’t throwing a party for the year that was. 

“We have buyers who might be a little bit more selective,” Olson said. “Their criteria list might be a little longer than we‘ve seen buyers in the past. I think today’s buyers are a little bit more specific.”