Report: La Crosse County tightest inventory for home sales in state

Market keeps those looking from selling

In terms of selling homes, La Crosse County is exceptional in one very distinct way: there are not enough homes to sell. 

In a report released this week on May home sales, the Wisconsin Realtors Association says La Crosse County has the tightest inventory of homes to sell among all 72 counties in the state.

“Typically if the house is priced right, we’re actually seeing multiple offers in a day, two days,” Dave Snyder, president elect of the La Crosse Realtors, said. 

The demand has driven up prices, according to Snyder. The state realtors group says that increase is a little over 3 percent for the year, so far, but that doesn’t mean you can put a ridiculous asking price on your home.

“You still have to price it where the market it, and then the buyers will come to you if you have it priced right,” Snyder said. “Sometimes, we’re getting offers at $5,000 over asking price.”

The state realtors say there’s generally a lack of good homes for sale throughout western Wisconsin but, in La Crosse County, the homes shortage in particular is hurting sales.  

“If the inventories are all low, the people thinking about buying a house, can’t find something, so they’re not putting their house on the market,” Snyder said.

La Crosse county has seen only a modest increase in home sales for the year but, Snyder reminds, last year was the best year for sales in the county since before the great recession.