The Housing Market Remains Tight

The Wisconsin REALTORS® Association (WRA) released its September 2024 Wisconsin Real Estate Report, still showing a challenging market for first-time home buyers looking for lower priced starter homes. However, home sales are up 3.8% compared to the first nine months of 2023, thanks to a strong start to the year. Available supply is only 3.8 months worth, continuing to signal a strong seller’s market, as it is well below the benchmark indicating a balanced market.

The existing home market saw fewer sales in September 2024 relative to that same month last year, with 8.7% fewer sales over the most recent 12-month period. The median price rose 6% to $310,000 over that same period. There were very few listings below $200,000 in September. Specifically, only 18.2% of total listings were below that price point. In contrast, 31.4% of listings were in the $200,000 to $349,999 range, and the remaining 50.4% of listings exceeded $350,000. Thanks to a strong start to the year, year-to-date home sales are up 3.8% compared to the first nine months of 2023. The median price for the first three quarters of 2024 was up 7.6% to $310,000 when compared to the first nine months of 2023.

Although both total listings and new listings rose in September indicating a slight improvement in inventory levels, the housing market remained tight. With just 3.8 months of available supply, the existing home market continued to signal a strong seller’s advantage, with supply well below the six-month benchmark that indicates a balanced housing market.

The trend of declining mortgage rates has improved affordability in the state. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.18%, which is 102 basis points lower than the rate in September 2023. Combined with a slight increase in predicted median family income at just over a half percent since September 2023, the rate decline helped offset the six percent increase in the median home price. Overall, housing affordability improved 5.7% over the past 12 months.