September 2024 at a glance
The trend of declining mortgage rates has improved affordability in the state. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.18%, which is 102 basis points lower than the rate in September 2023. Combined with a slight increase in predicted median family income at just over a half percent since September 2023, the rate decline helped offset the 6% increase in the median home price. Overall, housing affordability improved 5.7% over the past 12 months.
The existing home market saw fewer sales in September 2024 relative to that same month last year, with 8.7% fewer sales over the most recent 12-month period. The median price rose 6% to $310,000 over that same period.
Thanks to a strong start to the year, year-to-date home sales are up 3.8% compared to the first nine months of 2023. The median price for the first three quarters of 2024 was up 7.6% to $310,000 when compared to the first nine months of 2023.
Although both total listings and new listings rose in September indicating a slight improvement in inventory levels, the housing market remained tight. With just 3.8 months of available supply, the existing home market continued to signal a strong seller’s advantage, with supply well below the six-month benchmark that indicates a balanced housing market.
There were very few listings below $200,000 in September. Specifically, only 18.2% of total listings were below that price point. In contrast, 31.4% of listings were in the $200,000 to $349,999 range, and the remaining 50.4% of listings exceeded $350,000.
WRA September 2024 Report
“We did see an improvement in overall listings in September, but this is still a very challenging market for first-time buyers who are traditionally looking for starter homes at lower price points. There’s a lot of unmet millennial demand, which unfortunately will keep pressure on prices and further shrink the inventory of starter homes.”
Tom Larson
President & CEO, Wisconsin REALTORS® Association
The 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.
