Wages up 1%, home prices up 7% and 4 more takeaways as Green Bay, Appleton area June home sales

Existing home sales declined 10.5% in June across much of Wisconsin, but Green Bay, Appleton and Oshkosh areas all saw either smaller declines, or in one region's case, an increase.

June is part of Wisconsin's peak home-buying season which makes the decline in sales, and a decline in new listings, disappointing, said Mary Jo Bowe, board chair of the Wisconsin Realtors Association , in a media release.

"Hopefully the unexpected drop in new listings is an aberration, and we’ll see new listings bounce back in July, which will help grow home sales," Bowe said in the release.

Overall, existing homes sold in the Green Bay (Brown County) and Oshkosh (Winnebago County) areas declined in June compared to June 2023, but the declines — 8% in Brown County and 10.2% in Oshkosh — were smaller than the statewide drop. Outagamie County, which includes the Fox Cities area where home sales were up 45% through May, bucked the statewide trend and posted a 9.5% increase in sales compared to June 2023.

Prospective buyers remain stymied by rising prices and a shortage of homes for sale. They'll find a mix of good and bad news in the June report. Here's a closer look at what's happening along the Interstate 41 corridor.

Bad news: Families' struggle to afford to buy a home in Wisconsin continues

Affordability is a multifaceted challenge for prospective home buyers. There aren't enough homes for sale in markets like Green Bay, Appleton and Oshkosh. Prices continue to rise. And interest rates in the 6-7% range, up from historic lows in recent years, increase financing costs in any mortgage payment.

And the struggles buyers face only continue to grow: The statewide median home sale price increased 7% from June 2023 to last month. The statewide median wage only increased 1% , WRA noted.

Tom Larson, WRA's chief executive, said bringing interest rates down — currently 6.05% for a 15-year fixed-rate and 6.77% for a 30-year mortgage — would help ease the financial pressure on buyers and could convince some current owners who financed at 3% to put their homes up for sale.

"Lowering the borrowing expense for first-time buyers would lower their financing costs. In addition, it would also help increase supply as existing owners would be more willing to list their homes if right-sizing did not substantially increase their mortgage rates,” Larson said.

Good news: Green Bay, Oshkosh areas see nice boost in inventory

Speaking of supply, the volume of homes for sale in June spiked in both the Green Bay and Oshkosh areas.

Inventory is measured by dividing the number of homes for sale in a market by the average number of sales per month. More than six months of inventory favors buyers, about six months is balanced and less than six months favors sellers.

The Green Bay area saw inventory increase from 2.8 months to 3.5 months, a 25% increase. The Oshkosh area saw inventory increase from 2.2 months to 2.8 months, a 27% increase. In the Appleton/Fox Cities area, inventory rose a more modest 3.6% to 2.9 months.

Bad news: Inventory growth did not take place in key price ranges

Yes, inventory continues to trend in the right direction, but anyone who's searching for a home can tell you it remains very tough to find and buy a home for less than $350,000.

That's because there are a lot more homes for sale for more than $500,000 in Wisconsin and not nearly as many in the $125,000 to $350,000 price range more buyers can afford.

There were 12,373 homes sold for between $125,000 and $200,000 in the last 12 months and there are 2,418 homes for sale in that price range right now. That's about 2.3 months of inventory.

In contrast, there were 10,021 homes sold for more than $500,000 in the 12 months and there are currently 5,215 homes for sale in that price range right now. That's 6.2 months of inventory.

More for homebuyers: A national settlement will change how you buy and sell homes. What Wisconsin buyers, sellers need to know

Good/bad news: A first for median prices in Oshkosh

If you're a seller in Oshkosh, you're probably happy the median sales price in Winnebago County hit $300,000 in June. If you're a buyer, you may not be so happy.

Wisconsin's median home purchase price first topped $300,000 in June 2023. A year later, Winnebago County's median purchase price reached the same level for sales logged last month.

The Oshkosh area's median price for sales year-to-date is $250,000.

Good news: Mortgage interest rates trend in the right direction

Larson mentioned interest rates as a key to improving affordability for buyers. And there's at least a little good new on that front.

Interest rates have dropped every week in July and currently are at the lowest rate since mid-March. As of July 18, rates for a 15-year and 30-year fixed-rate mortgage are 6.05% and 6.77% respectively, according to mortgage lender Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey .

Federal Reserve officials have noted cooling inflation and a slower job market in recent months which increases the likelihood the Fed will cut short-term interest rates, said Dave Clark, an emeritus professor of economics and consultant to the state Realtors association.

"Although mortgage rates more closely mirror movements in longer-term rates like the yield on 10-year treasury bonds, they tend to fall when the Fed lowers short-term rates,” Clark said in a media release.

Contact Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@gannett.com . Follow him on Twitter at @JeffBollier .

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Wages up 1%, home prices up 7% and 4 more takeaways as Green Bay, Appleton area June home sales