Local Realtors president says first quarter housing market growth unlike anything she’s seen

La Crosse is breaking new ground in a tight housing market.

The area saw a huge surge in home sales in March.

La Crosse Area Realtors Association president Judy Gull said a big bounce in home sales comes despite an historic shortage of homes to buy.

“We definitely have a tight supply,” she said. “We have the lowest supply in the state right now.

“We have a very strong demand out there right now so that’s pushing the sales numbers up. But we also have that tight supply — so it’s that supply-and-demand thing and the millenials are out there and they want to buy a house.”

The state Realtors Association says La Crosse County’s home sales jumped 29.7 percent for March over March of last year.

Gull said she’s never seen a first quarter like the area just witnessed this year — booming sales, soaring home prices. Very little to actually sell but new homes may soon help that situation.

“They are building fast and furious. Up in Holmen, they’re building a ton of property,” Gull said, adding Bangor and Rockland are doing the same. “They’re going to have some new construction in La Crosse area where the old naval center use to be.”

It’s all something few local Realtors have seen before, a market that’s hot for sellers as well as buyers.

“It is pretty amazing,” Gull said. “It seems kind of like the perfect storm for Realtors right now.

“Both the buyers and the sellers really need us…The sellers need us to navigate through three to 10 offers on a house. And the buyers need a realtor if they want to find a house.”

Compared to March of last year, median prices on those homes increased by 13 percent to $183,000 last month — well above the statewide median of $174,900.