It took Wauwatosa more than 180 years to see its first million-dollar home sale on the open market. It took six weeks to see its second.
A two-story midcentury home on Maple Terrace sold for $1.2 million last March. During the rest of 2023, eight additional homes joined Tosa’s million-dollar club. (A Wauwatosa home did sell for $1.1 million in 2012, but that was in an off-market transaction.)
Three circumstances helped lead to the deal that smashed that million-dollar ceiling: a tight supply of homes for sale, a unique approach to staging and a fresh perspective from an out-of-state buyer used to seven-figure sales.
“No question, low inventory leads to higher prices,” says Tammy Herpel, the Keller Williams Realtor who sold the 4,600-square-foot home.
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The outside of the home blends in with its surrounding middle-class neighborhood less than a mile from the Regional Medical Center; you don’t see the “wow” factor until you get inside. The homeowners had just finished an addition and major renovation, with the intention of staying in the home and raising their family, but that was before an out-of-town job offer precipitated their move. The goal of the intial price was to recoup the recent investment.
That work on the house actually posed a challenge for Herpel, as original features stood out as super dated. “The home would not have sold for more than a million dollars if we hadn’t meticulously staged every inch,” she says. “We found ways to highlight the new, and at the same time bring out authentic charm in what would have otherwise looked tired and old.”
Sometimes it takes fresh eyes to change long-standing attitudes. At first, Herpel approached high-end buying agents who said a million-dollar sale in Wauwatosa was unrealistic. Then she listed the home on MLS and within a few days an out-of-state buyer (who was used to million-dollar prices) scooped it up. One of the real estate agents Herpel originally approached came back to her after the sale, pleasantly surprised, Herpel recalls: “She told me, ‘I just want to thank you for raising my property values.’”
The breakthrough has led to a sea change in Tosa: According to Rocket Homes, the median Wauwatosa home sale increased 12.3% in September 2023 from a year earlier – and it’s up 32% in homes with five bedrooms or more. “Wauwatosa has been undervalued for way too long,” says veteran agent Katie Corcoran, who compares it to other communities with frequent million-dollar sales. “The community has great attributes, similar to Whitefish Bay and Shorewood, with walkable neighborhoods, good schools and a great downtown. Finally, the community is catching up.”
The breakthrough is giving listing agents the confidence to sell a home at a higher price, Corcoran says. “Now there is proof to show an appraiser that other people are willing to spend a million dollars in Wauwatosa. It also gives buyers who are financing a higher likelihood that their loan will be approved.”
She expects the trend to continue for the time being. “Present interest rates are keeping entry-level home sellers where they are because they don’t want to give up the rates they have,” she says. “And as long as homeowners stay put, the housing supply remains low, demand remains high and buyers will pay more.”
