May 2023 · Guide · 3 min read · by Kinan Sawar, MD — REALTOR® at Shorewest, REALTORS®
Sales are near record lows but prices are holding. Here’s how to make sense of a market that’s frozen rather than falling.
A frozen market confuses people because the usual rules seem suspended: activity has collapsed, yet prices won’t break. Here’s the framework.
Low sales volume tells you about transactions, not prices. With few forced sellers and scarce inventory, a market can grind to a near-halt while prices hold remarkably firm. That’s the 2023 condition.
Forget the volume headlines and watch the three supply-demand gauges: for-sale inventory, days-on-market, and the share of listings with price cuts. Those move before prices and tell you which way leverage is tilting.
In a frozen market, both buyers and sellers benefit from patience. Buyers can wait for motivated sellers; sellers can wait for the right buyer. The worst move is forcing a transaction the market isn’t offering.
Kinan Sawar, MD — REALTOR® at Shorewest, REALTORS®, serving Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin (Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Racine, Kenosha, and Walworth counties). Email: [email protected] · Phone: (618) 713-2964.
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Home values and rents are Zillow ZHVI/ZORI estimates for the named area, as of 2026-07-03; incomes and population are U.S. Census (SAIPE, Population Estimates); migration is IRS Statistics of Income. Area-level statistical estimates for information only — not an appraisal, and not financial, legal, or tax advice.