Homes for sale in Door County, Real estate, waterfront property for sale in Sturgeon Bay, Southern Door, Fish Creek, Sister Bay, Algoma, Kewaunee

July 2020 Newsletter

July 16, 2020 by Kathy M

June polished off the first 6 months of 2020 in what can be described as a tale of two quarters. The first quarter reflected a pretty normal start to the year, while the second quarter took in not only the effects of the coronavirus, but also historically low interest rates plus a very strong seller’s market due to limited homes available for sale.

A strong May resulted from the closings of transactions which were written up prior to the full effects of the virus being felt. Low interest rates and limited inventory created an unusually strong seller’s market.

June’s rather dramatic decline in sales activity compared to previous years can be attributed almost entirely to the virus. Here are the numbers: June 2020 showed 71 sales in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) compared to 119 in 2019…a drop of 40%. Volume declined 42%, moving from $27.2 million last June to just $15.9 million here in 2020.

Despite what checked in as the slowest June since 2013, the year-to-date median price for the first six months of 2020 was the highest in 7 years at $160,000. Last year’s January – June median price was $148,750. That’s a solid increase of 8%.

Median price for shore and inland home properties was generally higher with the exception of a slight decrease in Kewaunee County residential homes. Vacant land, residential and hotel condominiums all showed moderate increases in median price.

Needless to say, the real estate markets in Door and Kewaunee Counties are a bit unpredictable with all that is going on. Thus far most prognosticators feel the housing market will be strong for the foreseeable future. They also pretty much agree that commercial properties will struggle. Uncertainty is the culprit here.

We here at ERA Starr Realty will continue to carefully follow all aspects of the real estate markets in both Door and Kewaunee Counties. It is our goal to provide the very best service to all our customers and clients. We are “Always There For You!”

June 2020 Real Estate Newsletter

June 18, 2020 by Kathy M

May proved to be somewhat of an anomaly when compared to recent real estate activity over the last few years. Certainly with all that is going on in this country as well as world wide, this should not surprise anyone. What is surprising is how the residential home sales in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) were affected during the month of May.

There were 21 residential home sales recorded in the MLS for May in 2019. Moving ahead to this year we see an increase to 38 sales, 17 more for a jump of 81%. Unheard of!!

In addition, we saw an increase in median price from $160,000 in 2019 to $241,000 here in 2020. That’s up 51%!! In my 51 years in the real estate business, I have never experienced numbers like this.

There are obvious and less than obvious reasons. Here are my thoughts:

Interest rates are lower than anytime I can remember.
Supply of available homes is very limited – low supply/high demand.
And yes, the pandemic! It may be psychological.
Certainly other factors like the overall strong economy these past few years.

The major increases noted above can be attributed mostly to the real estate market in Northern Door County. Here is where the big ticket homes are sold and this accounts for the dramatic increase in median price. The top 4 real estate offices in Northern Door County only sold 4 homes in May 2019 compared to 15 in May of this year.

The psychology of this may well be at least partially attributed to people wanting to get out of the big city, the big crowds with higher rates of exposure to COVID-19, and spending more time in Door County where there’s more room to roam.

Over these next months, we here at ERA Starr Realty will be watching closely for the impact any of the above factors have on the real estate markets in Door and Kewaunee Counties. We will continue to be “ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU”!

May 2020 Newsletter

May 22, 2020 by Kathy M

Here in the middle of May we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of a real economic mess for the whole country…including Door and Kewaunee Counties. Although the impact for us has been much less than areas just a few miles away like Green Bay, we still feel the sting. ERA Starr and all our associates and staff wish all our customers and clients, as well as everyone worldwide, good health and prosperity.

April sales in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) was the lowest in 6 years, down 25%, moving from 66 transactions last year to 53 here in 2020. Volume decreased from $13.6 million to $10.4 million, a decline of 31%.

Certainly we expect this slow down in market activity to continue for the immediate future. However, I am encouraged by the number of buyers actively looking at properties in both Door and Kewaunee Counties. Perhaps we need to view this 20% unemployment rate with a little less dismay. I see many “help wanted” signs in the industrial park and other commercial locations throughout Sturgeon Bay.

We recently listed a nice and clean, smaller ranch home just outside of Sturgeon Bay and wound up with 5 offers on the home with the winning offer coming in over listed price. This is not an isolated instance and continues the very strong demand factor for moderately priced homes in the area.

The supply side of the real estate markets in Door and Kewaunee Counties remains out of balance for affordable housing just as it was over the past couple of years. Sellers are happy and buyers are often disappointed in the very meager number of homes to look at.

We here at ERA Starr Realty will continue to closely monitor real estate activity in Door and Kewaunee Counties. It is our responsibility to keep our customers and clients apprised of what’s going on with the local real estate markets. We are “ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU”!

March 2020 Newsletter – A Cool February

March 11, 2020 by Kathy M

With January and February out of the way, these next few months should give us some indication as to what direction the real estate markets of Door and Kewaunee will take.

However, there are a few “bugs” in the system that may or may not greatly affect which direction the markets move. Namely, the coronavirus and the impact of the radical movements we are seeing in the stock market.

The number of sales for February moved down slightly from 51 to 49 in February, while the year to date median price took a nice jump, increasing nicely from $148,200 last year to $166,500 here in 2020.

Again, there are not nearly enough sales to make any overall prediction as to the direction of the markets; but through the first 2 months of 2020 we appear to be headed toward another very good year for the real estate markets in Door and Kewaunee Counties.

As of today, we continue to see a real shortage of low to moderately priced homes available throughout the two-county area. We see immediate and strong activity on any new listings offered through the MLS, often followed by many showings and multiple offers. Offers over listed price are not uncommon.

Waterfront Residential Homes Sold: In 2019 we saw the median price rise over $400,000 for the first time, moving from $393,500 to $410,000! That’s a 4% increase and continues the upward trend for this type property. Nothing drastic but steady increases over the last few years. The number of sales has also been relatively steady ranging from 101 last year to a high of 112 in 2016.

Your next newsletter will summarize March and April and should give us a strong indication just where the markets are heading for the remainder of 2020. Here at ERA Starr Realty we will be watching closely to ensure we have the latest market conditions for our customers and clients. We are “ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU”!

February 2020 Newsletter – Residential Property Sales

February 13, 2020 by Kathy M

With 2019 in the books, now is a good time to review the real estate markets in Door and Kewaunee Counties. For this issue, we will concentrate on residential inland properties since these sales comprise 38% of all activity in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The second most active property category is vacant land at 21%.

Here is a breakdown of 6 distinctive areas of residential inland property sales as recorded in the MLS:

Gibraltar, Sister Bay, Ephraim, Liberty Grove, Baileys Harbor – Number of sales down from 110 in 2018 to 92 in 2019. Median price moved up slightly from $270,900 to $271,250.
Jacksonport and Village and Town of Egg Harbor – Number of sales down from 35 to 30. Median price down from $259,500 to $255,000.
Sevastopol Township – Number of sales move from 30 in 2018 to 29 in 2019. Median price increased from $235,000 to $245,000.
City of Sturgeon Bay – Sales down from 108 to 101 with median price jumping from $139,500 to $158,000.
Southern Door County – Numbers of sales down from 57 to 44. Median price increased from $175,000 to $175,750.
Kewaunee County – Number of sales decreased from 76 to 64 while median price was $124,250 in 2019 compared to $125,250 in 2018.

Overall there were 388 residential inland properties sold at a median price of $190,000. In 2018 the numbers were 442 sales at a median price of $181,000. It should be noted that these overall numbers included some properties in Brown County and other miscellaneous areas including Washington Island.

Also of note, we must recognize that we have experienced 5 straight years of ideal selling conditions. This has led to a very real shortage of available inventory of homes for sale, and consequently fewer sales in 2019 compared to 2018.

ERA Starr Realty follows these markets carefully in order to provide a level of service that is unparalleled. We are “Always There For You”.

January 2020 Newsletter – 2019 in Review

January 17, 2020 by Kathy M

December finished off the decade with another exceptional year for real estate in the Door-Kewaunee real estate markets.

2019 completed a 5 year surge in market activity that saw record sales in real estate activity for Northeast Wisconsin. We had been crawling out of the real estate bust which peaked in 2008, but 2015 started a climb that saw sales and values increase dramatically.

The best measure of values can be found in reviewing Median Price over a number of years. In 2009 the median price for real estate sales for Door and Kewaunee Counties was $130,000. Median price in 2019 jumped to $160,000. That’s a solid increase of 23%!

Plug that increase into the increase in overall market activity and property owners have experienced a very solid uptick in the value of property held through this timeframe.

In 2009 there were 598 sales recorded in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). For the last 4 years beginning with 2016 we have experienced over 1,000 property sales per year. That’s almost a 70% climb in number of properties sold. Here is the reason why we have been experiencing a shortage of available homes for sale locally and really throughout the country.

As we move into this new decade, the immediate future for the real estate industry looks very good. As stated above, the biggest problem is availability of properties for sale. Builders are extremely busy and have not been able to keep up with the demand, so sales of existing homes provide the majority of available inventory. This means that home values will hold strong.

Excellent home mortgage interest rates remain very low and money is readily available. Coupled with very low unemployment and a strong economy, the outlook for 2020 is quite bright for the Door and Kewaunee County real estate markets.

ERA Starr Realty has been carefully following these markets since 1954. Our 3 brokers and 22 professional sales associates strive to provide up-to-date information to our customers and clients. We are “Always There For You!”

December 2019 Newsletter & Real Estate Market Review

December 12, 2019 by Kathy M

With the Holiday Season upon us we find buyers and sellers generally much more interested in shopping for gifts in stores and online than listing or buying real estate. Certainly this is the norm for November and December where we historically experience a rather sharp decline in real estate activity.

However, this does not mean we close our doors. The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) recorded 86 sales in November of this year with a sales volume of $22.2 million dollars. Nothing to sneeze at! Last year November recorded 85 sales for $19.6 million. This results in a 13% increase in volume with the number of sales remaining basically the same.

All this indicates a very stable market in general, which is certainly good news as we proceed toward our fourth consecutive year of strong real estate activity in Door and Kewaunee Counties.

As always, consecutive years of strong activity lead to concerns about available inventory. As inventory decreases, prices rise and typically builders cannot keep up with the demand for new homes. Unless there are some very unusual circumstances, this will inevitability lead to rising prices.

The most recent available price information from the Wisconsin Realtors Association notes that through September, the median price of homes in Northeast Wisconsin rose 8.2% compared to 2018. This was accompanied by a 6.8% decrease in total listings.

In 2016 median price for our MLS through November was $144,700. Here in 2019 we find our median price at $161,000 or an increase of 11%. Over three years that increase is reasonable and trending in a positive direction.

With 3 managing brokers offering over 100 years of experience in the Door and Kewaunee County markets, plus 22 exceptional agents and 2 full time staff, ERA Starr Realty offers a totally satisfying buying or selling experience. We are “Always there For You”!

Wishing you and your family a Happy Holiday Season and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2020!

November 2019 Newsletter & Market Update

November 20, 2019 by Kathy M

The month of October continued the strong real estate markets Door and Kewaunee Counties have been experiencing for the last 4-5 years. Although down a bit from the last two years, 2019 still is the third best October volume in the last 6 years.

The following chart depicts October activity in the last 6 years with year-to-date (YTD) median price for the two counties:

YEAR	NO. OF SALES	VOLUME (Millions)	YTD MEDIAN PRICE
2019	98	$24.0	$160,000
2018	119	$28.7	$162,000
2017	114	$30.1	$156,850
2016	91	$16.7	$140,250
2015	113	$22.5	$146,000
2014	89	$15.9	$141,200

This chart shows an 18% decrease in number of sales from 2018 to 2019. This certainly is a significant number; however, I believe most of this can be attributed to the real shortage of properties for sale. This is the case, and has been, following the banner years the industry experienced in 2017 and 2018.

This housing shortage is especially true for homes priced in the low and median price range, arbitrarily from $75,000 to $200,000. Homes priced in this range typically go under contract within just a few days of showing up in the MLS.

It is likely this situation will continue for the immediate future. Builders are extremely busy with higher priced homes, so there is little relief coming from new construction. Consequently, any new inventory for prospective buyers to consider has to come from existing housing.

Here at ERA Starr Realty we continue to lead all MLS agencies in number of transactions and overall volume. Through October our 349 transactions lead the second place agency’s total of 230. With a total volume of $54.8 million, ERA Starr tops the second place agency that checks in with volume of $51.9 million. Looking for an agency that knows the market? Give us a call. We are “Always There For You!”

October 2019 Newsletter – Market Update and Year-to-Date Review

October 15, 2019 by Kathy M

The first 9 months of 2019 certainly have to be described as very positive for the real estate markets in Door and Kewaunee Counties. I say markets because of the existence of at least three separate markets encompassed within the Door County MLS: Northern Door, Southern Door and Kewaunee County. All three markets are moving along well into 3 solid years of strong, real estate activity.

Highlights of the last three years, January – September activity, are as follows:

YEAR	NO. OF SALES	VOLUME (in millions)	MEDIAN PRICE
2017	780	$161.9	$155,000
2018	804	$180.1	$159,950
2019	765	$166.9	$160,000

Number of sales is rather stable, moving up from 707 sales in 2016, 696 in 2015 and a low of 576 in 2014.

Median Price at $160,000 in 2019 is up 14% from 2014 when median price was $140,000. That’s a less than 3% increase per year. This illustrates a reasonable increase in property values over the last 5 years…and differentiates our markets from the very volatile markets on the coasts and other high profile locations.

Also of note, we find median price in 2005, at the peak of strong market activity in the early 2000’s, at $143,250. Subsequently, as the real estate market collapsed, median price dropped to $129,500 in 2009 and 2010.

All indications show that the market should remain strong for the foreseeable future. The main complaint we hear from all markets is a shortage of inventory (homes for sale). There simply are not enough homes for sale to satisfy the demand. This is especially true of homes priced from $125,000 to 250,000. Naturally as prices increase, demand decreases so we see the strongest demand for the lower priced homes.

ERA Starr Realty continues to lead the Door County MLS in number of sales and sales volume. Our staff of highly qualified sales associates is poised to provide exceptional knowledge of market conditions for our customers and clients. They are “Always there For You”!

Area	2019 Median Price	2020 Median Price	Difference
Northern Door	$184,000	$227,450	+24%
Southern Door	$154,000	$166,250	+8%
Kewaunee Co.	$118,500	$148,500	+25%

March 2020 Newsletter – A Cool February

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