Home sales drop, prices rise in La Crosse County and statewide

Lack of houses available has pushed prices up 9% in county.

In what could be seen as a huge hit to the affordable housing market in Wisconsin, April sales of homes in Wisconsin slipped by double percentage points as prices continue to rise.  

This, after a banner first quarter of the year for home sales in March.

Seen, however, as a significant economic marker, home sales dropped by over 10 percent in April over the same month last year in the state, according to new numbers from the Wisconsin Realtors Association. 

The decrease was even greater in La Crosse County, where April sales fell by just under 15 percent from the same month last year.

The realtors group says, while there was 50,000 homes for sale in April of 2015 statewide, only 36,000 were available for sale across Wisconsin this year.  

Prices continue to push up locally and statewide with realtors attributing both trends to simply a lack of available homes.  

At this point, few are willing to use the words, “housing bubble,” but it could just be a matter of time, as a lack of homes for sale on the market have pushed prices upward by nearly 7 percent statewide and just over 9 percent in the county.