Median Wisconsin Home Price Fast Approaching $300,000

Monday, June 26th, 2023 -- 12:00 PM

(Jeff Bollier, Green Bay Press Gazette) The median home price in Wisconsin is fast approaching $300,000 as the short supply of homes for sale continues to push purchase prices higher in every region of the state.

The median price rose 6.9% to $294,000 in May, according to monthly home sales data the Wisconsin Realtors Association released on Thursday. WRA data indicates the ongoing lack of inventory for sale led to a 21.5% drop in existing home sales in May compared to May 2022.

Home sales year-to-date have declined 26.4%. The combination of rising prices, a shortage of homes for sale and current mortgage interest rates continue to hamper affordability, sidelining many would-be house hunters, according to Michael Theo, WRA's chief executive officer and president.

Some help with new housing development and affordability issues could be coming. On the same day May sales data was released, Gov. Tony Evers signed a package of bills which home building groups and a bipartisan group of legislators say will lower the cost of construction and limit neighbors' ability to oppose development.

For much of the last 20 years, Wisconsin's proverbial "average" home price was about $100,000 to $150,000, depending on where you live. It took until 2015 for the median purchase price statewide to exceed $150,000, according to WRA housing statistics.

Since then, the pace of sales and prices paid in recent years whether in major markets like Milwaukee and Madison, mid-sized cities like Wausau and Oshkosh, or rural counties, has led to a statewide median purchase price nearly double what it was a decade ago.

The current median purchase price is now $275,000 through the first five months of 2023. That amounts to a 49.5% increase since 2018 and a 92.3% increase since 2013. The median price in May by region of the state ranges from $226,000 in the Central region, which includes Wausau, Stevens Point and Marshfield, up to $354,000 the south central region, which includes the Madison, Janesville and Beloit areas.

In the southeast region, which includes Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Kenosha, the median price in May was $300,000. In the northeast region, which includes Green Bay, Appleton and Oshkosh, the median price in May was $260,000.

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