April 2024 Home Sales Report
April Home Sales Spike Upward as Inventories Improve
Date: May 23, 2024
April 2024 at a glance
- Strong buyer demand combined with ongoing improvements in listings pushed existing home sales up dramatically and put pressure on prices.
- Wisconsin home sales rose 25.7% in April relative to that same month last year, and the median price rose 6.4% to $300,000 over that same 12-month period. On a year-to-date basis, sales were up 12%, and the median price increased to $285,000, which
is a 6.5% increase compared to the first four months of 2023.
- Compared to April 2023, home sales rose in April 2024 by double-digit margins in every region of the state. The strongest growth was in the more rural regions with the Central region up 43.5%, the West region increasing 40.4%, and the North region
growing 37.9%. More urbanized regions also grew at a healthy pace. The Northeast and South Central regions increased between 25% and 29% over the last year, and the Southeast region was up 16%.
- The statewide inventory situation continues to improve. New listings of homes rose 13% in April 2024 compared to April 2023, and total listings were up 6.1% over that same period.
- Although the market remains a strong seller’s market statewide with less than six months of available supply, the months of inventory improved 14.8%, from 2.7 months in April 2023 to 3.1 months in April 2024. The improvement was seen in every region
of the state, but especially in rural counties, which increased from 3.3 months of supply a year ago to 4.1 months of supply in April 2024.
- Rising prices and mortgage rates more than offset modest growth in family income, leading to a 10.1% decline in statewide affordability over the last 12 months.
Analysis from the experts
Continued Good News on Housing Supply
“We’ve got a way to go before the market becomes balanced, but at least it’s moving in the right direction. The growth trend in listings has really helped our sales this year, and it bodes well for robust growth this summer.”
Mary Jo Bowe, 2024 Chair of the Board of Directors, Wisconsin REALTORS® Association
Millennial Demand Resilient Even as Mortgage Rates Rise
“There are significant unmet housing needs for millennial buyers, the oldest of whom are now in their early 40s. Even though average monthly mortgage rates have been increasing throughout 2024, millennials remain committed to homeownership, which is a
big reason home sales have rebounded this year.”
Tom Larson, President & CEO, Wisconsin REALTORS® Association
Moderating Home Price Appreciation
“A comparison of April housing prices in Wisconsin shows median prices up just over 40% since the pandemic hit in 2020. A lot of that increase took place between 2020 and 2022, when median prices rose almost 25% in total. In contrast, the last two years
have seen 12-month home price increases of just 5.4% in April 2023, and only 6.4% in April 2024. Since homeownership expenses make up about one quarter of the overall weight of the Consumer Price Index, which is the index used to measure inflation,
it’s good to see some moderation in home price appreciation. Hopefully this will continue as the Fed works to meet its 2% inflation target.”
Dave Clark, Professor Emeritus of Economics and WRA Consultant
About the WRAThe Wisconsin REALTORS® Association is one of the
largest trade associations in the state, representing over 17,500
real estate brokers, salespeople and affiliates statewide. All
county figures on sales volume and median prices are compiled by
the Wisconsin REALTORS® Association and are not
seasonally adjusted. Median prices are only computed if the county
recorded at least 10 home sales in the quarter. All data collected
by the WRA is subject
to revision if more complete data becomes available. Beginning in
June 2018, all historical sales volume and median price data from
2015 forward at the county level have been re-benchmarked using the
Relitix system that accesses MLS data directly and in real-time.
Data prior to January 2015 is derived from the Techmark system that
also accessed MLS data directly. The Wisconsin Housing
Affordability Index is updated monthly with the most recent data on
median housing prices, mortgage rates and estimated median family
income data for Wisconsin. Data on state foreclosure activity is
compiled by Dr. Russ Kashian at the University of
Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Note that the WRA employs a
slightly different protocol to determine inventory levels than the protocol used by the REALTORS® Association of South Central
Wisconsin (RASCW). For consistency, the summary tables for the
South Central region reported in the WRA release employ the WRA
approach. However, a modified table employing the RASCW methodology
is available from the WRA upon request.