(The Center Square) – Wisconsin cannot shake its home affordability problems.
The latest report from the Wisconsin Realtors Association says there are more homes for sale across the state, but prices continue to rise.
“Housing affordability is a national problem, and while the Midwest fares better than the other regions of the country, we’re not immune to the challenge," Realtors CEO Tom Larson said in a statement.
The July 2025 report shows that total statewide listings improved 7.3% from July of last year. But prices also jumped 4.5% over the same 12 months.
The median price for a home in Wisconsin is now $322,500.
"The moderation of price appreciation and income growth both help, but the stubbornly high mortgage rates have kept Wisconsin affordability near record-low levels. Hopefully, we see mortgage rates improve over the next year," Larson added.
While prices are up, Larson said price increases were under 5% for the third straight month.
Year-to-year home sales are down less than half-a-percent, while year-to-date home sales are up a half-a-percent.
“All of our measures of inventory improved in July, which continues a general trend we’ve seen since April. Addressing the inventory shortage is key to improving sales and moderating the rapid appreciation of prices," Realtors board chair Chris DeVincentis added.
The Milwaukee-area and the Madison-area continue to lead Wisconsin’s home sales numbers. The two account for almost 55% of all homes sold in the state, though the Realtors said there has been an uptick in sales in northern Wisconsin.
"Rural regions led sales growth, fueled by stronger inventory. In the North region, supply rose 13% to 6.1 months, driving a 12% increase in closed sales compared to last year," the report notes.
So far, the Realtors said, there have been 37,819 homes sold in 2025. That's an increase of less than 200 homes from July of last year.
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