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April 2025 Home Sales Report

Home closings down sharply as prices rise in April

Date: May 22, 2025

April 2025 at a glance

  • For a second straight month, home sales fell by a substantial margin while prices increased. Existing home sales slid 10.4% when compared to April 2024, and the median price increased 7.3% to $322,000 over that same 12-month period.
  • The year-to-date sales were down just 3.5% compared to the first four months of 2024, due to solid growth in January and February of this year. Home sale prices rose 8.8% when compared to the first four months of 2024. This pushed the median sale price to $310,000.
  • Statewide inventories improved 5.9% to 3.6 months of available supply in April, but they remained well below the six-month benchmark of supply that signals a balanced market. To reach what is considered a balanced market, the state would need April total listings to increase 67% from current levels.
  • April supply levels were static at 3.2 months of supply for larger metropolitan counties. However, they improved 8.6% to 3.8 months in micropolitan counties that contain smaller cities and towns, and they were up 13.6% to five months of available supply in rural counties.
  • The Wisconsin Housing Affordability Index measures the percentage of the median-priced home that a representative buyer with median family income qualifies to purchase, assuming 20% down and the unpaid balance financed with a 30-year fixed mortgage at current rates. Affordability was essentially unchanged, rising just 0.8% over the last 12 months. This is because the 7.6% increase in median family income and quarter-point improvement in mortgage rates more than offset the 7.3% increase in the median price.

Additional analysis

Opportunities in Less-urban Areas

"It’s still a strong seller’s market statewide, but we are seeing signs of improvement in our smaller communities as well as in rural parts of the state. Potential buyers may want to consider expanding their home search into areas where supply is growing to increase their likelihood of success."

Chris DeVincentis, 2025 Chair of the Board of Directors, Wisconsin REALTORS® Association

Putting Declining Sales into Perspective

"Sales dropped 10.4% over the last 12 months, but we need to remember that April of last year was a very strong month for sales. In fact, closings spiked 27.7% in April 2024 compared to April 2023. This was the strongest annual growth seen since late 2020. April 2025 sales were 14% higher than they were two years ago in April 2023, which is a solid month for home sales."

Tom Larson, President & CEO, Wisconsin REALTORS® Association

Tariff Uncertainty and Inflation

"In its most recent meeting, the Fed left the federal funds rate unchanged with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell indicating that the risk of higher inflation as well as higher unemployment increased since March. Indeed, the initial estimates of first quarter real GDP growth were slightly negative, falling 0.3%. However, since that meeting, the administration announced promising trade negotiations with China, which was followed by better-than-expected April inflation data. Hopefully the threat of tariff wars is subsiding, which will help keep inflation in check."

Dave Clark, Professor Emeritus of Economics and WRA Consultant

About the WRA

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.