The real estate markets of the Eau Claire and Altoona neighborhoods of Wisconsin have been bustling with activities. Home prices in these areas have seen substantial increases in recent years to mirror the overall increase that has been recorded statewide.

Today’s market can prove very challenging if you are looking to buy or rent homes in the Eau Claire area. The real estate market here is highly dynamic and appears to be a strong seller’s market. We’ll briefly look at the trends playing out in both of these markets to give you an insight on what to expect.

Eau Claire Real Estate: Current Trends & Market Statistics

2017 has been a very active year here in Eau Claire and it’s not like this will change anytime soon. The average home in the city today is valued at around $160,000, although the average listing price is just shy of $190,000.

Despite this big increase of 10% from what we had last year, industry analysts have even predicted that the median home price in Eau Claire would likely see further hikes, according to Zillow statistics.

Homes for rent in Eau Claire Wisconsin today would also cost you in average a little over $1,100. This is a very slight decline from recent years unlike what we are seeing with the growing costs of purchase. Affordability is getting lower with each passing day as homes continue to get costlier. This is due to a few reasons chief among which are:

• The low average age of inventory, and

• Limited supply to meet growing demands

• Ever-increasing population estimated in 2016 to be over 68,000 - a 10% increase over figures from year 2000

The rising employment opportunities offered by the many expanding companies in the area has also increased public interest in the neighborhood. Top employers in the city include Menard Inc, Silver Spring Food Inc, and Hutchinson Technology among others. Some of these companies have grown from a one-shop business to big brands over the years, contributing significantly to the economic development in the area.

Unless more affordable homes are being added to the market to fill the void brought about by this unprecedented growth, homes in the area would always be priced higher than they should normally be. Jobs are being created and unemployment is at a historically low point. More people are moving in that needs to be housed and inventory shortage would continue to induce a rise in the price of the available supply.

Altoona Real Estate: Market Trends and Statistics

If you are in the market to buy homes for sale in Eau Claire County, then the Altoona neighborhood is another great location you may want to consider -although most homes in the area are priced at over $200,000 and above.

If you’ll be renting a house in Altoona, this will still cost you an average of about $1,152, similar to what you’ll get if you’re looking at homes for rent in Eau Claire Wisconsin. The situation here too is quite similar to Eau Claire’s.

Economic development is moving at a fast pace without a corresponding development in the housing sector. As the region continues to grow and develop, the influx of new workers and residents automatically creates a deficit that is hard to fill by the current supply. This scenario ultimately leads to home prices becoming higher.

This concern was raised by Altoona city mayor, Brendan Pratt when he told some 120 audience members of the April 2018 edition of Eggs & Issues that “for our city to grow, for businesses to be able to hire and bring people into the community, they need a place to live.”

He further drove home his point as he explained to the audience how hard it is for the majority of the Altoona population whose average median income of $52,000 makes it almost impossible to find affordable and reasonably-priced homes in a market where the average home is priced at a staggering $221,000.

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