The Midwest is starting to thaw out for spring and that means, hopefully, that the real estate market for those states is going to start gearing up, too.
Last December Midwest home sales were 17 percent below their 2006 numbers, which reflects the slump in the housing market felt by most of the country.
But spring is the time of year when not only the flowers start to come in bloom, but the real estate market picks up as buyers take advantage of the warm weather to shop for houses.
The interesting thing now is to watch for that trend to continue this year despite the slowing overall economy.
So now is a great time to start looking at what some actual agents in the Midwest are saying about the conditions in their states.
Steven Senter, our local market expert in St. Charles, Illinois has some good insight into his market.
He's reporting that the market for entry level homes priced between $200,000 and $350,000 is holding steady, and the higher-end market of homes between $650,000 to $850,000 is also strong with a slight upward trend.
Mequon, Wisconsin appears to be showing a similar trend in sales.
Market expert Bob Arnold, reports that homes priced in the lower range are starting to move more quickly, which is beginning to stimulate the entire housing market.
And some areas of Kansas have also seen a boost in sales. Andy Kogan of Overland Park is reporting a surge of activity in his market, where the average price is $230,000. A lot of this has been stimulated by out of town investors, Kogan says.
All of these reports seem to point to an increase in the market this Spring, and hopefully this will create some momentum to combat the malaise we've seen in the market over the past few months.
