Last issue we looked at inland residential home sales since 2020.  Market activity in Northern Door, Southern Door and Kewaunee County showed rather dramatic increases in median price for all three sectors of the two counties.  Shore home values show a similar dramatic median price over the last few years.

All values cited below are from January 1st to July 24th time period as reported in the Door County Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

Bottom line, residential waterfront homes increased in median price from 2019 to 2024 a total of 215%, moving from $383,000 in 2019 to $825,000 this year.

Moving back ten years to 2014, we find median price checking in at $308,000, showing somewhat moderate price increases until prices began to balloon to the current median price of $825,000.

Starting in 2019 with a median price of $383,000, the next five years consecutively check in with median prices of $450,000, $561,000, $559,000, $787,000 and the current value of $825,000 for 2024.  Again, that’s from January 1st to July 24th for all prices.

Let’s take a minute and talk about just how active were and are the markets for shore homes through the last ten years.  In 2014 there were 40 residential waterfront homes sold.  Average Days on Market (DOM) were 329 for the 40 properties sold.  Here in 2024, we find the average DOM of 130 days for 33 sales.  Fewer homes sold, higher prices, but less time to consummate the sale.

Here at ERA Starr Realty, we take the time to study the many factors that affect home prices and marketability of different type properties in different locations.  Real estate markets are very volatile and influenced by many things not in our control.  Prices and market time are typically very important to our customers and clients.  We can help!  We are Always There For YOU!!

After the first five months of home sales here in 2024, let’s take a look at just where home sales are headed. All of the following information applies ONLY to residential inland home properties..no condos, shore homes, etc.

Because there are three very distinct markets within Door and Kewaunee Counties, each market shows rather different traits regarding number of sales, dollar volume and median prices.  All numbers represent years 2020 through 2024 (January through May).

Starting in Northern Door County (excluding Washington Island), we extend from Liberty Grove township through Sevastopol. Here we find in 2020 there were 48 homes sold at a median price of $317,500. The next 4 years there were 59, 48, 31 and 38 sales. 2024 generated a median price value of $546,500. That’s a 72% increase in values in just five years. WOW!!

Sturgeon Bay south to the county line generated 38 sales in 2020, followed by 57, 41, 25 and 56 homes sold in subsequent years. Median price showed a 77% jump in those five years, moving from $178,500 to $316,500 this year.

Kewaunee County housing market was less active with 27 sales in 2020 followed by 25, 25, 18 and 12 over the next four years. Home prices escalated from a low in 2020 of $129,900 to the current median price of $256,000 for the first five months of 2024, a whopping 97% increase in just five years, but still well below Door County values.

ERA Starr Realty was the most active real estate agency over the last five years. With 45 sales January through May, we topped the second leading agency’s 35 sales. We also lead the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in shore home sales with a total of 110 for the first five months of the year for the last five years.  At ERA Starr Realty…“We are “Always There For You”!

Last month’s newsletter concentrated on residential inland home sales which accounts for approximately 50 percent of all sales in Door and Kewaunee Counties.  Any numbers presented in this or any other publication produced by ERA Starr Realty represents only those sales reported to our Multiple Listing Service (MLS) provider.  Sales consummated through private parties are not entered in the MLS and would be a small percentage of total sales.

It’s been a couple of crazy years for the real estate markets locally, statewide and nationally.  Year to year we have seen fluctuations in activity and prices not seen in my 53 years of real estate experience.  Example:  through September 12^th this year the MLS has recorded 785 sales compared to 1,012 sales last year over the same period of time.  That’s a 22% drop in the number of sales from last year to this year.  With 227 fewer sales you would think dollar volume would decrease at a similar pace.  Wrong!!  Dollar volume in 2021 was $263,755,927.  Here in 2022, we find dollar volume for the same period at $250,225,674.  That’s just a 5% decrease.

Obviously, property was selling at much higher prices in 2022 than in 2021.  This is verified by a rather dramatic increase in the Median Dollar Value for sales in 2022 vs 2021.  Last year median dollar for the 1,012 sales was $169,900, while 2022 showed a median dollar value of $229,500 – a jump of 35%.

Fewer sales but much higher prices.  That’s it in a nutshell and this applies to all type of properties from residential to vacant land to commercial to condominiums, with the greatest increases recorded in Northern Door County.  Kewaunee County witnessed much smaller price increases.

ERA Starr Realty knows the importance of keeping a close eye on the fluctuations in market conditions in the two-county region.  We feel it is our obligation to keep our clients current on the market conditions.  We are “Always There For You”.

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”!