Median home sale prices increased 153.1% since 2012, according to a study by Steven Deller, a community economic development specialist and professor with UW Madison Division of Extension.
Wisconsin median sales prices have risen from $112,800 in April 2012 to $285,500 in 2023. Deller said in the report this is the result of new housing supply not keeping pace with demand since the Great Recession.
Homeowners with a locked in low interest rate may be reluctant to sell and builders lean toward more expensive homes with larger profit margins instead of starter homes, according to Deller. Those factors are coupled with increasing material and labor costs.
While the increase in home value represents a significant increase in wealth for homeowners, it creates barriers for first-time homebuyers, Deller said. He added that the problem is not unique to Wisconsin.
The report says that upward pressure on Wisconsin housing prices remains strong despite significant increases in home mortgage interest rates. From 2012 through 2019, the average 30-year mortgage rate was 3.97%, then declined to a low of 2.65% in January 2020 (which contributed to the record demand for housing) to an average of 6.42% from January to June 2023.
The year-over-year change in average median sales price from January-April 2022 to January-April 2023 declined for only 13 Wisconsin counties and increased in 58 counties (data is missing for Douglas County). The largest increases were in Iron County, which saw an increase of 46.4% going from $171,125 to $250,500, and Shawano County going from $156,725 to $241,113, a 53.8% increase.
Green County experienced the largest slowdown with a median sales price in January-April 2022 of $272,838 to $221,000 in January-April 2023, a 19% decline.
