When Tom Bauer put his three-bedroom, two-bathroom tri-level house in Oak Creek up for sale late last summer, it drew little interest, so he took it off the market just before Christmas.
In February, he put it on the market again.
"In 48 hours, I had eight people tour the house, three offers, a counteroffer and it sold for $10,000 over asking," Bauer said. "Talk about having it up for sale at the right time."
Bauer wasn't alone in cashing in on metro Milwaukee's hot real estate market.
In the first quarter of 2017, homes sales in the region grew 3.9% from the same period a year ago, despite what real estate professionals say is a short supply of homes on the market.
In the Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha metropolitan area, 3,455 existing homes were sold in the January-through-March period compared with 3,325 in the same span a year ago, a report Tuesday by the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors shows.
Only Washington County had fewer sales than in the first quarter of 2016, but that was likely because of a lack of houses for sale, not a lack of interest from buyers, the Realtors organization said.
In March, sales were up 5.2% in the four-county metro area, to 1,537 from 1,461 in March 2016.
"It is a very robust market," said Tammy Maddente, executive vice president for First Weber Realtors. "We need inventory."
In his monthly report, Mike Ruzicka, president of the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors, said the latest sales tally "continues the trend of positive sales figures the market has experienced since late 2014."
Average sale prices also stayed on their slow climb in all but Ozaukee County during the first quarter.
The average price of existing homes sold in Milwaukee County was $161,224, up about 4% from $154,960 in the first period of 2016.
In Waukesha County, the average first-quarter selling price was $292,266, or 2.8% higher than $284,278 in the same time last year. In Washington County, the average price was up about 1%, to $227,881 from $226,191. The average price decreased 2.6% in Ozaukee County, to $292,154 from $300,000, according to the Realtors report.
Listings remain in short supply overall, even though they increased 4.6% in the metro Milwaukee area in March.
"Market conditions are ripe for a strong spring and summer market," Ruzicka said in his report. "Job security and prospects look good, and interest rates continue to hover around historic lows. The biggest cloud on the horizon is the supply of homes, both existing and new construction."
A separate report shows that home building was up from the same time last year in the four-country area.
Through March, there were 332 permits to construct new homes issued in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties, according to MTD Marketing Services of Wisconsin Inc. That was 7.8% more than 308 in the first quarter of 2016.
