Affordable homeownership continued to be an elusive concept in Wisconsin as declines in home sales and new listings fueled an increase in home prices.
According to new data from the Wisconsin Realtors Association (WRA), June’s home sales were down 10.5% year-over-year. WRA attributed this downturn to the 10.5% year-over-year decline in new listings – a drop that occurred after eight straight months of growth in new listings. As a result, WRA added, there was a 7.4% increase in the median price to $327,500. over that same period.
Every region of the state experienced slower sales and higher prices compared to June 2023. However, WRA also highlighted that year-to-date home sales grew 6.9% compared to the first six months of 2023 while the median price rose 7.1% to $300,000.
“This is the second straight month that Wisconsin affordability hit record-low levels due to a combination of rising prices and higher mortgage rates,” said WRA President and CEO Tom Larson. “With the 30-year fixed rate at more than twice its pre-pandemic level, it’s important to bring those rates down. 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.”
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