HOME SALES surge

If you’ve noticed a lack of “For Sale” signs in front of area houses lately, there’s a good reason — they’re selling like hotcakes.

Home sales

B.C. Kowalski/City Pages

Home sales

Home sales are up in the entire Wausau metro area, according to the latest data.

As of Monday, 530 homes in Wausau have sold this year, seven more than the total sold in all of 2015. And 2015 was one of the best for area home sales in years, realtors say.

There are fewer listings, with about 1,800 so far this year, compared with more than 2,000 in the same period last year. That’s good news for sellers, because listed houses usually get multiple offers, says Nichole Guenthner of EXIT Greater Realty.

Sales also are up in the Schofield, Weston, Rothschild and Kronenwetter areas, where 377 houses sold this year, up from 367 in all of 2015.

The numbers mirror a statewide trend, according to the Wisconsin Realtors Association. In 2014, realtors sold 68,824 Wisconsin houses. That number jumped to 76,739 in 2015, and 2016 is on track to see even more.