When you think about it, these numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association are pretty shocking. Right now, applications for purchase loans (excluding refi's) are running 44 percent below the levels from a year ago and at the slowest pace in 28 years.
And yet, prices keep rising. How can this be?
Well, one thing we keep learning, based on our daily work in the field, is that we have a significant amount of pent up demand in the Madison area. And although we have no way of measuring it, there's no doubt in our minds that we have tens of thousands of residents here in Dane County who would love to buy a home if there was enough inventory to accommodate.
The other elephant in the room is that new listings continue to enter the market at the
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