he Wisconsin REALTORS Association (WRA) has released its January 2026 Real Estate Report, showing new listings fell significantly, leading to tighter inventory statewide.
Compared to a few years ago, there are fewer existing home sales and higher home prices. Existing home sales in Wisconsin fell 3.9% compared to January 2025. The median price rose 7.9% over the past year to $315,000.
Amy Curler, board chair of the WRA, said, “Total listings grew on an annual basis for 28 straight months before declining in January. We suspect this is just a temporary deviation from the trend, and we’re cautiously optimistic that the spring and summer markets will see growing inventories.”
Despite higher house prices, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell 86 basis points from January 2025 to January 2026. This helped lift the Wisconsin Housing Affordability Index by 2.2 percent, which is its highest level since January 2024.
The strongest home sale price increases were seen in the Northeast, with an increase of 11%, and the Southeast with 10%.