THU AM News: WRA report shows home sales, listings up in November as prices keep rising; Milwaukee landlord to pay $1.7M under settlement agreement

December 19, 2024

— Both monthly home sales and total statewide listings were up over the year in November even as the state’s median home price continued to rise, the Wisconsin Realtors Association reports.

Wisconsin had a total of 5,508 homes sold last month, an increase of 1.7% from November 2023 when 5,417 homes were sold. Report authors call this a “modest” increase, and WRA President and CEO Tom Larson notes home sales are generally slower during the winter.

“But there are some potential advantages to buying during this time of year,” he said in the group’s November report. “You will likely face less competition from other buyers, and as a result, you can expect more flexibility from sellers who are motivated to list their homes during this slower season for sales.”

Meanwhile, total statewide listings were 7.9% higher over the year, rising from 17,413 to 18,783 in November. Despite this improvement, WRA says the strong seller’s market persists as just 3.3 months of available supply is constraining homebuying activity. By comparison, a balanced market requires 6 months of supply, report authors note.

“The inventory of available homes remains very tight even as solid demand conditions persist,” they wrote. “The mismatch between supply and demand has limited sales growth and driven up home prices.”

Wisconsin’s median home price rose 10.8% over the year to reach $310,000 last month.

Mary Jo Bowe, board chair for WRA, notes the 30-year mortgage rate has “clearly come down” over the last year after peaking near 8% at the end of October 2023. But it’s remained around 6-7% for most of 2024, averaging 6.8% in November, she said in the report.

“High mortgage rates create significant affordability problems for first-time buyers who rely heavily on financing to buy homes,” she said.

The report shows November home sales varied widely by region, with the south central region of Wisconsin seeing 6.9% growth and the west seeing 15.3% growth. By comparison, the southeast had a 1.2% increase, the central region saw a 0.2% decline and the northeast declined 4.4% and the north was down 5.1%.

“In contrast, year-to-date growth for 2024 was consistently positive across regions, ranging from 1.8% to 6.4%, compared to the first 11 months of last year,” authors wrote.

See the report.

— Milwaukee landlord Youssef Berrada and his company Berrada Properties Management will pay $1.7 million under a settlement agreement linked to a lawsuit alleging violations of the state’s landlord-tenant law.

That’s according to the state Department of Justice, which yesterday announced the agreement resolving an enforcement action filed by the state in 2021. Elements of the settlement are meant to “address harm” caused by the alleged illegal activity, DOJ says.

Berrada controls more than 200 limited liability companies that own nearly 9,000 apartment units in Milwaukee and Racine, the agency’s release shows. He and the company were reportedly accused of violating tenant protections, not making repairs and more.

The defendants have agreed to run an income-based rental program for up to 300 tenants for up to five years, as well as participating in an “eviction diversion program” and creating a $1.3 million credit account for rent assistance grants to certain tenants. Plus, the company will offer up to $400,000 in “move-out assistance payments” for tenants facing eviction. All of these remediation programs will be overseen by a third party, Community Advocates of Milwaukee.

Under the settlement, Berrada Properties Management will also be required to make payments to tenants that paid late rent or attorney fees that weren’t authorized, didn’t get full credit for a security deposit, had their property confiscated or were “subjected to a self-help eviction.” DOJ says about $850,000 in restitution will be paid under the program.

Self-help evictions are illegal, according to an overview from the Tenant Resource Center, and involve the landlord seeking to force out a tenant by changing the locks, shutting off power or other actions without a court order.

The settlement has been sent to the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee for approval, the release shows.

In a statement on the settlement, a spokesperson for the company said: “In resolving this matter, Berrada Properties Management, Inc., is doing what is best for its tenants but denies any wrongdoing. The settlement memorializes several practices and procedures in place since before the litigation was commenced. As it has always done, Berrada Properties Management, Inc., will continue to act in the best interests of its tenants by acquiring, improving, and professionally managing previously neglected properties.”

See the release.

— State health officials have identified Wisconsin’s first human case of bird flu, located in Barron County.

The state Department of Health Services says this farm worker was exposed to an infected poultry flock in the county, which was announced earlier this month by DATCP. The highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, case was identified at the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene and is pending confirmation by the CDC.

Tom Haupt, a research scientist and epidemiologist with DHS, yesterday said the patient “had relatively mild symptoms” and is expected to make a full recovery.

DHS is working with Barron County Health and Human Services to monitor other farm workers who may have been exposed, though the announcement notes the risk to the general public “remains low.” Those who work with animals or are otherwise exposed to them face a higher risk of infection.

Speaking yesterday during an online briefing, DATCP State Veterinarian Darlene Konkle said Wisconsin hasn’t detected the bird flu virus in any of its cattle herds.

“But we do want cattle producers to be aware, dairy producers, that the virus is circulating in other states and to be aware of it, monitoring for clinical signs and to up their biosecurity,” she said. “This is a time of the year, over the past couple of years of dealing with this particular virus, that we tend to see more cases in poultry.”

Symptoms of HPAI in people include sore throat, fever, muscle aches, cough and eye infections.

The CDC yesterday announced it has confirmed the first “severe” case of bird flu linked to the H5N1 virus in the country, and the patient has been hospitalized in Louisiana. This person was exposed to sick and dead birds in a backyard flock — the first bird flu case in the country to be linked to such a flock.

Since April, a total of 61 human cases of the bird flu have been reported in the United States, according to the agency.

See more in the DHS release.

Top headlines from the Health Care Report…

— With legislation legalizing medical marijuana last year failing to gain enough support, incoming Senate President Mary Felzkowski says Senate Republicans will work with their Assembly counterparts to try to reach a compromise.

And former Gov. Tommy Thompson told reporters he supports Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert K. Kennedy Jr. to serve as the secretary of the federal agency the former guv led during George W. Bush’s first term.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

Sign up here.

— The state Building Commission has deadlocked on a proposal from the Universities of Wisconsin to reallocate $70 million from a project at Eau Claire and put it toward work on other campuses after GOP lawmakers voted against it.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, wrote in a letter to UW President Jay Rothman that the move was in response to a “lack of transparency and an inability or unwillingness to answer critical questions relating to these projects.”

He added it would delay several projects, including a new engineering building at the Madison campus and suggested it could impact the Legislature’s consideration of the system’s request for an $855 million boost in state aid in the 2025-27 budget.

“Refusing to answer questions creates an adversarial relationship between the UW and the legislature that benefits neither us, nor the taxpayers who invest billions of their hard-earned dollars in your system each year,” LeMahieu wrote.

During yesterday’s meeting, state Sen. André Jacque, R-De Pere, said he was deeply concerned that the bid on the UW-Eau Claire science and health science building came in $70 million below what had been expected just this spring, but “we didn’t hear a peep about it from DOA until last week.” He said rather than consult with lawmakers, the Department of Administration and UW have been looking at how to spend rather than working with the Legislature on if it should be saved.

The proposal sought to redirect the money to work on residence halls at Stout and Whitewater, as well as the Madison engineering building and other projects.

UW spokesperson Mark Pitsch said, “We will continue to work with the legislature to address concerns that might remain regarding this project that is so critical to developing engineering talent for Wisconsin.”

— State officials have announced more than $9 million in loan funding for affordable housing developments, which will add 485 units across Wisconsin.

Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority yesterday rolled out the list of recipients for the Vacancy-to-Vitality, Restore Main Street, and Infrastructure Access loan programs. Evers in a statement said more than 17,000 affordable housing units have been built in the state under his administration.

“These critical programs through our historic budget investments will help make sure we continue expanding access to affordable housing and build stronger communities across our state,” he said.

See the release.

Landscaper Action Jackson starts work training program in Sun Prairie

Landlord giant Joe Berrada to pay $1.7 million to settle state lawsuit

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