Wisconsin Home Prices Continue To Climb, Even As Home Sales Dip

Real estate prices continue to rise in Wisconsin.

The latest figures from the Wisconsin Realtors Association show the median price for a single-family home was $154,900 in February.

That’s up more than 6 percent from the year before, even as home prices last month fell 2.6 percent from those of February 2016.

Economist David Clark of Marquette University, who consults for the WRA, said Wisconsin home prices still compare favorably to national figures. But he said an improving economy and a low number of homes on the market will probably continue to push prices up this year.

“While income has been rising, those interest rates are also rising and prices are rising,” he said. “The combination of two of those three components likely to rise over the course of 2017 is certainly a bit of a concern.”

Clark said economists will be watching the number of new listings this spring to see whether the housing supply will continue to lag behind demand and push prices up for the industry’s peak months of May through August.

“If you want your home to sell during those months, you’re getting ready in March and April,” he said. “We’ll see if we start seeing some rather significant upward movement in listings such that the inventory levels ultimately get back to a bit more of a balanced situation.”