Wisconsin home prices rise for another month

(The Center Square) – The price of homes in Wisconsin continues to go up.

The latest report from the Wisconsin Realtor Association, for April’s home sale numbers, shows the median price for a home jumped again last month.

“A comparison of April housing prices in Wisconsin shows median prices up just over 40% since the pandemic hit in 2020,” WRA Consultant David Clark said in the report. "A lot of that increase took place between 2020 and 2022, when median prices rose almost 25% in total. In contrast, the last two years have seen 12-month home price increases of just 5.4% in April 2023, and only 6.4% in April 2024."

The median price for a house in Wisconsin is now $300,000. That’s up $100 from April’s report on the sales figures from March.

The higher prices, the realtors say, is a reflection of both higher interest rates and a lack of homes for sale.

“We’ve got a way to go before the market becomes balanced, but at least it’s moving in the right direction,” Realtors board chairwoman Mary Jo Bowe added. "The growth trend in listings has really helped our sales this year, and it bodes well for robust growth this summer."

The report said there were 17,203 homes listed for sale in April, that’s up about 6% from April of last year. Of those, the report said 5,532 homes actually sold.

There is more inventory in Wisconsin. According to the realtors, there’s a little more than than three months of homes on the market, that was just under three months in April of last year.

South central Wisconsin, the Madison area, continues to have the most expensive median home price at $375,000. Last month, that median price was $354,900.

Southeast Wisconsin is next with a median price in April of this year $315,000, compared to $300,000 in March.

But the strongest sales numbers are in other parts of the state.

The report said, “The strongest growth was in the more rural regions with the Central region up 43.5%, the West region increasing 40.4%, and the North region growing 37.9%. More urbanized regions also grew at a healthy pace. The Northeast and South Central regions increased between 25% and 29% over the last year, and the Southeast region was up 16%.”

The association's CEO said home sales are strong, despite the high prices and high interest rates, because buyers continue to be interested in buying a home.

“There are significant unmet housing needs for millennial buyers, the oldest of whom are now in their early 40s,” Realtors President & CEO Tom Larson said in the report. "Even though average monthly mortgage rates have been increasing throughout 2024, millennials remain committed to homeownership, which is a big reason home sales have rebounded this year."