(The Center Square) – Median price of a house is about 10% more expensive than it was a year ago, according to the latest report from the Wisconsin Realtors Association.
“Existing home sales in January 2025 only rose 0.6% compared to their January 2024 levels, but the median price increased 10.6% to $293,000 over that same period,” the report said.
A lack of homes for sale and rising mortgage costs are the biggest problems for home affordability.
New listings rose 8.7%, and total listings were up 5.9% over the past 12 months, the report says. Higher mortgage rates and higher median prices offset the modest 0.4% estimated increase in the state median family income.
“Low inventories generated strong price pressure in every region of the state, but home price appreciation was especially strong in the more urbanized areas in the northeast and southeast where prices rose in the 10% to 12% range over the last year,” Chairman Chris DeVincentis of the association said. “Higher prices and higher mortgage rates really hurt first-time buyers who rely heavily on financing in their home purchases.”
The Realtors’ report puts the statewide median price for a home at $293,000. Prices vary by region, and the median price in the Madison-area is the most expensive in the state.
The Realtors’ report says homes in south central Wisconsin have a median price tag of $350,000, and southeast Wisconsin is $299,900.
Realtors president Tom Larson said the report contains some nuggets of hope.
“We cannot draw too many conclusions about 2025 home sales based on January sales volume since we only sell about 5% of annual sales in a typical January,” he said. “However, it is good to see a modest increase in home sales to start 2025 even though affordability fell 12% compared to January 2024. Hopefully mortgage rates begin to fall, improving affordability and increasing sales as we move into the spring and summer seasons.”
The report says while Wisconsin is still a seller’s market, the lack of home affordability means it is taking longer for houses to sell.
The report said, “Lower affordability has resulted in more days on the market for homes that closed in January. Average days on the market rose from 79 days a year ago to 86 days in January 2025, which is an increase of 8.9% over that period.”
