Unit Sales, Vilas and Oneida Counties

On this chart, we are tracking units listed in Vilas and Oneida Counties, the Northwoods' of Wisconsin. The blue line represents units listed while the pink line represents units sold. The trend has been remarkably consistent in good years and in not so good years. The unit sales line for 2008 February through April has dropped from previous years. Listings have been a bit off so if the inventory seems low, it actually is.

It should be noted that the weather in 2008 has been significantly worse than the previous winters. The overall economy in the Northwoods' is behind. It is my opinion that some of the sluggishness in unit sales can be attributed to poor weather here and in our largest buyers' market (southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois).

Its not easy trying to gauge trends using the Days On Market Report. There simply are not enough sales to make the data reliable. Days on Market for both On Water and Off Water are reasonable for late spring.

The one noteworthy point is the huge difference in the Average List for Active Listings vs. the Average List for Sold Listings for Off Water homes. There is a $50,000 price difference. The market simply is not accepting high priced off-water homes.

Days On Market Report

Active Listings

On Water Off Water

Avg. DOM 188 200

Avg. List $518,682 $185,848

# of Listings 647 761

Sold Listings

On Water Off Water

Avg. DOM 247 201

Avg. List $564,150 $133,652

Avg. Sell $497,750 $127,384

Sell/List % 88.2% 95.3%

# of Listings Sold 10 39

Some good news is that average list and sell prices continue to rise. Wall Street is up 200 points this week. The Fed cut prime again this week. Unemployment claims went down slightly. It is the opinion of many that the worst is actually behind us.