The Great Recession has been felt throughout the city of Wisconsin long after it was over back in 2009. In the subsequent year, the real estate values experienced a 3.1 percent drop. In 2012, a steady increase was noted which lasted until February 2017 when a significant decrease was experienced. The drop was due to reduced inventory where the supply of homes stands at 4.3 percent, making this a sellers’ market. The winter in January 2017 can also be said to have motivated quite a number of potential home buyers to acquire homes.
There was, however, a rise in the price of real estate property in March 2017, with the median price in southeast Wisconsin which includes Waukesha, Milwaukee, Kenosha, Racine Ozaukee, Washington, Sheboygan, and Walworth increasing by 6.2 percent. The Wisconsin Realtors Association’s monthly report showed that the growth in the real estate industry was universal across the cities in Wisconsin. The steady rise can be attributed to the strong economy with emphasis being put on the putting up of commercial buildings, thus easing the tax burden on single-family house owners.
In the years past, most residential buildings not only in Wisconsin and the vast of the States but also in other comparable regions such as Australia and UK were centered around rental apartments. Diminishing land for development and the growth rate on entry level properties have seen builders opt to come up with more townhouses and commercial buildings.
The lack of affordable labor and a drop in properties in March necessitates property owners and developers to devise means of minimizing the constructional costs. This has been achieved through the acquisition and development of existing property. For instance, the Blugold Real Estate Foundation has signed up a contract with developer John Mogensen to purchase and convert the Water Street apartments to a student housing by early August. Developers are seeking to maximize the space their property occupies through the construction of commercial buildings that can be leased out to various businesses, thus maximizing returns on the investment. Such is the case in North Oakland where a two-storied building is to be developed into decent apartments and will also consist of even a retail space.
Renovation and upgrading of a property depends on whether the market is brisk for its use. In that case, the exteriors and interiors can be upgraded to the extent that they fit the current market trends, thus saving the developer time and other resources. Keep in mind that the local government needs to be involved when any redevelopment is being undertaken so as to ensure that the proposed property meets the current regulations.
To minimize construction costs, the developers see the need to borrow a leaf from their Australian counterparts who do so through the building of steel framed houses. As noted by various companies in this industry, using recycled steel as a primary building material is more advantageous, as it is termite proof even without chemical treatments. It is also lightweight and therefore suitable for sloppy areas and the steel used is recyclable, thus making it more environmentally friendly. Just as is the case with the UK who pay the highest taxes on property sales resulting to higher property prices, Wisconsin’s prices are likely to be inflated by higher mortgage rates, demand for home ownership and increasing consumer confidence.
The demand is projected to increase with the strong economic growth as well as from people who could not get credit after the Great Depression. The real estate industry is expected to continuously grow with buyers who have in the past missed out buying property due to competitiveness poised to take action. This will, however, not work for the buyers with higher mortgage rates and coming across an affordable property expected to become more challenging. This will also imply that it will be hard for first-time buyers to qualify for credit facilities.
