We hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend with family and friends. While some serious storms swept through sporadically, there were long stretches of fine weather as well. Thanks to those of you who’ve shared with us the pictures of the community celebrations across the state. They looked to be well-attended and reverent affairs.
Now, it’s back to the work week. The school year is wrapping up for many families, and we know how hectic that can be. So let’s get right to the Key Reads.
It’s not getting any easier, especially for first-time home buyers and young families. Rising property values are a great thing, especially for investors. But when they, and rising interest rates (the fruit of reckless government spending), along with a tight supply create a barrier for first-time home buyers to enter the market, it has a depressing impact on the rising generations.
Wisconsin home prices rise for another month | The Center Square
The latest report from the Wisconsin Realtor Association, for April’s home sale numbers, shows the median price for a home jumped again last month.
“A comparison of April housing prices in Wisconsin shows median prices up just over 40% since the pandemic hit in 2020,” WRA Consultant David Clark said in the report. “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.”
The median price for a house in Wisconsin is now $300,000. That’s up $100 from April’s report on the sales figures from March.
The higher prices, the realtors say, is a reflection of both higher interest rates and a lack of homes for sale.
“We’ve got a way to go before the market becomes balanced, but at least it’s moving in the right direction,” Realtors board chairwoman Mary Jo Bowe added. “The growth trend in listings has really helped our sales this year, and it bodes well for robust growth this summer.”
The report said there were 17,203 homes listed for sale in April, that’s up about 6% from April of last year. Of those, the report said 5,532 homes actually sold.
There is more inventory in Wisconsin. According to the realtors, there’s a little more than than three months of homes on the market, that was just under three months in April of last year.
South central Wisconsin, the Madison area, continues to have the most expensive median home price at $375,000. Last month, that median price was $354,900.
Southeast Wisconsin is next with a median price in April of this year $315,000, compared to $300,000 in March.
But the strongest sales numbers are in other parts of the state.
The report said, “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 association’s CEO said home sales are strong, despite the high prices and high interest rates, because buyers continue to be interested in buying a home.
“There are significant unmet housing needs for millennial buyers, the oldest of whom are now in their early 40s,” Realtors President & CEO Tom Larson said in the report. “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.”
We first chronicled this a few months ago, and the problem is getting worse.
‘It’s a real problem’: Lawmakers debate banning delta-8, other hemp products in Wisconsin | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told the Journal Sentinel he wants to ban delta-8 and similar products.
“I think that’s the wise move,” Vos said. “But I think it’s super unlikely with Democrats wanting to go in the opposite direction and legalize recreational marijuana, so we’re kind of in a quandary.”
…Earlier this year, he supported a strictly controlled plan to bring medical marijuana to Wisconsin. It failed after some members of his own party wouldn’t support it. Vos said he is concerned delta-8 is a way to bring a similar substance into Wisconsin.
“It’s just basically marijuana. It’s just a different version of the same thing,” he said. “I think it’s a real problem that has to have a better answer than just throwing up our hands.”
A pair of Democrats also raised concerns about the lack of oversight of hemp-derived products produced by the fast-growing industry, but they oppose banning delta-8 and other similar items.
Instead, they said they would like to see marijuana legalized and delta-8 and similar products regulated in the same way.
State Sen. Melissa Agard, who has proposed legalizing marijuana without success for years, said she has talked with hemp producers and processors across Wisconsin and they are looking for the government to step up with rules.
Agard, D-Madison, said the Legislature should have a comprehensive discussion about cannabis and regulate marijuana and hemp products.
Wisconsin has no statewide age limit for the new hemp products.
“I don’t want my 14-year-old walking into a shop and buying delta-8, but now there’s a real chance he could, depending on the flavor of the shop and the community that it is in,” Agard said.
Supply is tight, but there are still ways to get camping passes for State Parks.
Wisconsin State Parks open camping season near capacity | WPR
Missy VanLanduyt oversees recreation partnerships for the state Department of Natural Resources. During a recent appearance on WPR’s “Wisconsin Today,” VanLanduyt said the holiday weekend was close to 90 percent booked across all campgrounds.
“We are seeing pretty significant demand,” she said. “There was a brief dip in 2022, but it’s still continuing to rise, which is incredible.”
Higher interest in campsites is part of a trend that began with the COVID-19 pandemic, VanLanduyt said. A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report on DNR camping data found that bookings on public campgrounds have risen by nearly 10 percent since 2019.
As of this month, VanLanduyt said nearly three-fourths of summer campsites are booked. But aspiring campers who wish to book sites shouldn’t lose hope yet, she said. While it may be a challenge to find weekend sites at popular parks like Devil’s Lake State Park, a new DNR program this year notifies people via email when sites open due to cancellations. Vanlanduyt also recommended checking local Facebook pages if campers are posting their late cancellations.
But as long as people are willing to travel a little, there are likely same-day campsites available most weekends, according to VanLanduyt. Campers just may need to travel a little further than the parks around major metropolitan areas.
That’s a wrap for today. Here’s to a productive week and a Brewers’ sweep of the Cubs.
Speaking of baseball. We’ll leave fans of the game with this great news:
MLB Umpire Angel Hernandez has retired.
Now this probably means the league paid him a lot of money to just go away, but that’s fine. His erratic behavior and erratic strike zones won’t be impacting America’s Pastime any longer.
