(WTAQ-WLUK) — High mortgage rates are allowing a low supply of houses for sale in Wisconsin to stretch further, real estate agents say in their latest monthly report.
The Wisconsin Realtors Association’s September report shows the median price of a home in the state at $295,000. That was 9.3% higher than in September 2022, but lower than August’s $300,000.
In the northeast region of the state, the median price stood at $273,500.
Meanwhile, the WRA said months of inventory have improved statewide, with September 2023 sales down 18.4% from a year earlier.
“For the second straight month, the annual decline in new listings has been below 4%, which is a significant improvement from earlier trends where the decline was much larger,” WRA board chair Joe Horning said in a news release. “Now we’re starting to see promising signs for total listings as well, which had the lowest annual reduction in total listings in nearly two years. Hopefully these supply trends continue.”
“Mortgage rates are at their highest point since late 2000, which priced a lot of first-time buyers out of the market for now,” WRA president/CEO Michael Theo said in a news release. “This means our available supply goes further, which is why our months of inventory have improved slightly. But we still have a long way to go before millennial demand is met and the housing market becomes balanced.”
The WRA says there is 3.3 months’ worth of supply available in Wisconsin. For the market to be balanced, listings would need to increase by 77%.
