REPORT: Home Sales and Median Prices Both Rise in October

Madison, Wis. – The Wisconsin REALTORS® Association (WRA) released its September 2024 Wisconsin Real Estate Report today, noting a rebound in sales following a fall in September. While the state remains a seller’s market, mortgage rates are still more than a percent lower than October 2023. Inventories remain tightest in Wisconsin’s metropolitan counties, but improved overall across all urban-rural classifications, despite being 12,720 listings away from a balanced market.

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE

Mary Jo Bowe, 2024 Chair of the Board of Directors, Wisconsin REALTORS® Association, commented on the mortgage rate concerns: “It’s good to see mortgage rates below the peak from a year ago, but it was disappointing to see them rise a quarter point in October. Unfortunately, spikes in mortgage rates keep both buyers and sellers of existing homes sidelined.”

Tom Larson, President & CEO, Wisconsin REALTORS® Association, noted an increase in new listings: “We’ve had consistent improvement in our listings beginning in November of last year, and the uptick in both new listings and total listings in October was a good sign. Although months of inventory are tightest in our large cities, they are getting closer to being balanced in Wisconsin’s smaller urban areas and rural communities.”

David Clark, Professor Emeritus of Economics and WRA Consultant, explained recent mortgage rate increases: “Although the Fed has now lowered the short-term Federal Funds rate by 75 basis points, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage moved in the opposite direction in October. Mortgages tend to track the 10-year Treasury yield more closely than short-term interest rates, and those Treasury yields have been increasing since mid-September. Uncertainty about future economic growth can contribute to changes in the Treasury yield. Now that the national elections have been settled, hopefully this leads to less uncertainty, lower Treasury yields and lower mortgage rates.”

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS: 

• October home sales rebounded after falling in September. Compared to October 2023, existing home sales rose 3.5%. Strong demand and tight supply continue to put upward pressure on the median price, which rose 10.7% to $310,000 over the past 12 months. On a year-to-date basis, closed sales rose 4.1% relative to the first 10 months of 2023, and the median price rose 8% to $310,000.
• Inventories have improved due in part to the spike in listing recorded in October. New listings rose 8.6% compared to a year earlier, which pushed total listings up 8% over October 2023.
• Inventories improved across all urban-rural classifications, but they remain tightest in the state’s metropolitan counties, which had just 3.4 months of supply in October. In contrast, micropolitan counties, which include smaller cities and towns, had 4.2 months of supply, and counties classified as rural had 4.9 months of supply.
• The state remains a seller’s market and would have needed 12,720 additional listings in October to reach a balanced market characterized by six months of supply.
• After falling 88 basis points between May and September, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reversed course and increased a quarter percent in October to 6.43%. Still, mortgage rates are more than a percent lower than October 2023 when the average rate was 7.62%.
• Although mortgage rates did improve over the last 12 months, the spike in media prices and the tepid growth in median family income over the last year led to very little improvement in affordability. The Wisconsin Housing Affordability Index rose just 1.6% since October 2023.

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE

About the WRA
The Wisconsin REALTORS^® Association (WRA) is one of the largest trade associations in the state, headquartered in Madison, Wis. The WRA represents and provides services to more than 17,500 members statewide, made up of  real estate sales agents, brokers, developers, appraisers, inspectors, bankers and other professionals who touch real estate. The WRA is under the direction of a statewide board of directors, comprised of members from the top real estate firms around the state.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.