Milwaukee metro home sales surge 30 percent in May

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- A Realtors group reports sales of existing homes in the Milwaukee metro area jumped more than 30 percent in May.

The report issued Monday, June 11th says it's the 11th consecutive month of a double-digit increase from a year earlier.

President Mike Ruzicka of the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors says some brokers thought home sales would ease in the spring, but that's not been the case.

Ruzicka says gradually increasing consumer confidence, low interest rates and low prices are combining to establish a "firm pattern of recovery'' in the metro Milwaukee housing market.

The Realtors' group said the inventory of homes for sale, which has been large for the last five years, is shrinking. But the supply of foreclosed properties still remains high.

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