News Summary
Home sales in the Milwaukee metro area rebounded in September, rising by 7.3% year-over-year. Despite this surge, home sales year-to-date remain down by 2.2%. The Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors notes that inventory shortages are a significant challenge, with demand still strong among millennials and empty nesters. The average home price has also increased, reflecting broader economic pressures affecting the housing market. Overall, while September showed improvement, challenges persist in the Milwaukee housing landscape.
Milwaukee, WI
Home sales in the Milwaukee metro area showed a positive turn in September, rising by 7.3% year-over-year. This increase marks a noteworthy rebound from previous months, where the housing market faced declines due to fewer available properties for sale and broader economic uncertainties.
In the broader eight-county southeastern Wisconsin region, home sales also climbed, posting a 5.9% increase in September compared to the previous year. This data comes from the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors (GMAR), which noted these trends in its latest sales report.
Despite the spike in September, the overall year-to-date performance is less promising, with home sales in the metro area down 2.2%. Earlier in April, the four-county metro Milwaukee experienced a 5.3% decline in year-over-year sales, while the seven-county southeastern Wisconsin region saw a slight dip of 0.4%.
April represented a challenging period for home sales, marking the third consecutive month of year-over-year declines for the metro Milwaukee area. GMAR identified a significant contributing factor to these declines as the limited number of properties available for sale, with the market needing an estimated 4,000 additional units to meet the high demand.
Despite the limited inventory, demand for homes remains robust. In the current market, properties priced between $200,000 and $399,999 represent over 45% of sales, attracting primarily Millennial and Generation Z first-time buyers, as well as empty nesters.
In April, the average home sale price in the Milwaukee metro area was $424,344, reflecting an 11.7% increase from the previous year. However, economic pressures are evident across the state. For instance, in March 2025, Wisconsin witnessed a significant 10.2% drop in home sales compared to the same period the previous year.
For the first quarter of 2025, existing home sales in Wisconsin experienced a 0.8% decrease year-over-year, while the median home price climbed to $300,500, representing a 7.3% increase. This trend persists amid a backdrop of high mortgage rates, with average 30-year fixed mortgage rates remaining above 6% and buyers hesitating due to fluctuating interest rates and stock market instability.
Despite a nationwide slide in home sales, Wisconsin has managed to maintain rising median home prices. Builders in Wisconsin have seen a slight uptick in permits for single-family homes over the last two years, and there’s cautious optimism regarding new home construction, although there was a 6.6% decrease in starts during the first quarter of the current year.
The issue of home sale cancellations has also emerged, with data indicating that 8.2% of transactions in the Milwaukee metro fell through in June. This cancellation rate aligns with a larger nationwide trend as 14.9% of pending home sales across the country were cancelled in June, marking the highest figure recorded since tracking by Redfin began in 2017.
In conclusion, while September brought a surge in home sales in the Milwaukee area, challenges such as inventory shortages and economic instability continue to impact the market’s trajectory. It remains to be seen how these dynamics will evolve in the coming months as local buyers navigate an uncertain economic landscape.
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Additional Resources
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
- BizTimes
- Urban Milwaukee
- Patch
- Mortgage Professional America
- Wikipedia: Real estate in the United States
- Google Search: Milwaukee housing market
- Google Scholar: Milwaukee home sales
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Real estate
- Google News: Milwaukee real estate
Author: STAFF HERE MILWAUKEE WRITER
MILWAUKEE STAFF WRITER The MILWAUKEE STAFF WRITER represents the experienced team at HEREMilwaukee.com, your go-to source for actionable local news and information in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, and beyond. Specializing in "news you can use," we cover essential topics like product reviews for personal and business needs, local business directories, politics, real estate trends, neighborhood insights, and state news affecting the area—with deep expertise drawn from years of dedicated reporting and strong community input, including local press releases and business updates. We deliver top reporting on high-value events such as Summerfest, Milwaukee Film Festival, and the Milwaukee Boat Show. Our coverage extends to key organizations like the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and Visit Milwaukee, plus leading businesses in manufacturing and brewing that power the local economy such as Harley-Davidson and MillerCoors. As part of the broader HERE network, we provide comprehensive, credible insights into Wisconsin's dynamic landscape.
