11/22/2021
In case you are curious on the market, here is the latest report from Wisconsin Realtors Association
October 2021 Sales Report
Existing home sales dropped 12.3% between October 2020 and October 2021, even as median home prices rose 7.5% to $245,000 over the same period.
Year-to-date sales had been running well ahead of last year’s record pace for the first half of 2021, rising 9.7% compared to the first six months of the pandemic year. However, the last four months have seen sales slip 8.8% relative to that same period last year. The net effect is that through the first 10 months of the year, existing home sales are just 0.1% higher than year-to-date sales in 2020. In contrast, the year-to-date median price rose to $241,000, which is 9.5% ahead of last year’s median price for the January-through-October period
Indicators of inventory, including total listings, new listings and months of available supply, all fell over the last 12 months.
Inventory was tight in both rural and urban regions of the state. There were between 3 months and 3.5 months of available supply in every region, which is well below the benchmark of 6 months of supply that signals a balanced home market.
After five months of sub-3% mortgage rates, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 3.07% in October. This is a modest change of 20 basis points over the past 12 months.
The increase in the mortgage rate combined with rising home prices pushed affordability down. The Wisconsin Housing Affordability index fell 18.1% in October 2021 compared to October 2020. Still, a qualified buyer with a median family income, a healthy 20 percent down payment and with the remaining balance financed with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage can afford to buy 188% of the median-priced home in the state in October. This compares favorably to the national index for September with the latest monthly figures available, which shows that the typical U.S. buyer can only purchase 151% of the median-priced U.S. home.