Newsmakers: Wisconsin Home Prices
In an April 18 Newsmakers interview, two experts on Wisconsin’s real estate industry — UW-Madison Professor Stephen Malpezzi and Wisconsin Realtors Association Bill Malkasian — said there are signs that the two-year drop in Wisconsin home prices had bottomed out, at least in some regions of the state. Both also said the push by the governor and Legislature to require public employees to pay more for health care and pensions would slow home selling and buying, at least temporarily, in the Madison-area market where thousands of public employees live. Malpezzi and Malkasian said a 15-month inventory of homes and continued low interest rate offer advantages to potential home buyers who plan to live in the home for years, can psychologically withstand any slump in the home’s future value, and can line up affordable mortgage payments.
