As reported by the Wisconsin Realtors Association (WRA), November sales of single-family homes in Ashland County, Wisconsin declined by fifty per cent compared to November 2009 statistics.  There were twelve reported home sales in November of 2009 and only six reported sales in November of 2010.  Madeline Island Realty (in LaPointe, Wisconsin) made one-sixth (nearly 17%) of the total November 2010 home sales in Ashland County.

Average sold prices for Ashland County homes also declined in November of this year when compared to 2009 statistics.  November 2010 average sold prices were down 21.1% from a year ago.  The average price for a single-family dwelling sale in Ashland County in November of 2010 was $110,400.

Our recent November home sale (buyer procured by Madeline Island Realty and co-listed by Madeline Island Realty) closed at nearly 500% of the average sale price in Ashland County reported for the month of November.

This November, 2010 sale was our second closed sale of a Madeline Island waterfront property within a month.

Madeline Island Realty reported the only recent sale (during the past eight months) in excess of half a million dollars in LaPointe, Wisconsin.

Madeline Island Realty also recorded the only closed sale of a vacant waterfront parcel on Madeline Island in October of 2010. While this was a vacant land sale instead of a dwelling sale, the sold price for this transaction was nearly double the average dwelling sale price (average price calculated as $158,000) reported in Ashland County, Wisconsin for the month of October 2010.

Ashland County, Wisconsin has a population of just over 16,000 and covers a land area of 1044 square miles.  There are nearly fifty real estate licensees currently working in northern Ashland County.

The Real Estate section of today’s Wall Street Journal features an article entitled, “Market for Vacation Homes is on the Rise”. I was interviewed for this article by S. Mitra Kalita and it is a great honor to be mentioned in the Wall Street Journal.

The Journal article mentions and provides real estate market statistics for Hilton Head (SC), Palm Beach (FL), Mercer Island (WA), Cape Cod (MA), Pocono Mountains/Lake Naomi (PA), Hamptons (NY), and Madeline Island (La Pointe, Wisconsin)

Real estate industry sources interviewed and quoted in the article include NAR economist Lawrence Yun, Ned Monell (Sotheby’s International Realty in Palm Beach), Andy Twisdale (Hilton Head Realtor), Eric Kodner (Real Estate Broker with Madeline Island Realty in La Pointe, Wisconsin), and Harald Grant (Sotheby’s Southhampton Brokerage, New York).

NAR Economist Yun stated in the article that the upturn in sales of vacation homes is being fueled by stock market gains and the perception of an improving economy which has “made wealthier Americans more upbeat about the future”.

As part of the WSJ article, Ms. Kalita also interviewed the buyer of one of our Madeline Island home listings. It is significant to note that Madeline Island made the list of luxury vacation home communities mentioned in the Wall Street Journal article, along with well-known destinations like the Hamptons, Cape Cod, the Poconos, Hilton Head and Palm Beach, Florida.

The Wisconsin Realtors Association (WRA) just published its 2010 year end housing sales summary, concluding that Wisconsin home sales declined in 2010 while prices remained stable.

By contrast to the State median price figures and number of solds, Ashland County experienced a 5.3% drop in median sold prices and a 2.3% increase in the number of homes sold during 2010.

These statewide sales figures were skewed somewhat, especially during the first half of 2010, when buyers scrambled to qualify for the Federal homebuyer tax credit program and to get those purchases closed by the June 30 deadline.

Ashland County reported a total of 134 homes sold in 2010, up from 131 in 2009.  The median sold price in Ashland County was $90,000 in 2010, down from $95,000 in 2009.

With an Ashland County average of around 10 to 11 closed home sales per month in the past two years, it is safe to say that few sellers are experiencing success in marketing and selling their homes in our part of the State of Wisconsin.  This also means that a handful of real estate companies appear to be doing the lion’s share of the selling in Ashland County.

In December of 2010, there were just eleven sales closed in all of Ashland County.  And the Ashland County median sold price in December 2010 was $91,000, down over 17% from December of 2009.

While these figures are for Ashland County as a whole, they impact the Madeline Island real estate market as well.  For example:

- Few Madeline Island real estate agents made a sale in 2010.

- The inventory of unsold homes and vacant land listings on Madeline Island was barely reduced during 2010.

- More Madeline Island real estate agents have become ”part-timers” during the past year.  In some instances, local agents are waiting on the sidelines for the 2011 tourist season to begin.

Despite the slow housing market, there are bright spots.  The Wall Street Journal reported last week (Monday, January 10, 2011) that there appears to be a nationwide trend towards rising sales in the second home market.  We were pleased that Madeline Island Realty was interviewed and quoted in that article, which mentioned Madeline Island among a list of luxury market vacation home destinations that also included Cape Cod (MA), Palm Beach (FL), Hilton Head (SC), the Pocono Mountains (PA) and the Hamptons area of New York.