May home sales dip in Wisconsin, prices continue to climb

"Existing home sales fell 2.8% year over year in May," the report noted. “Year-to-date sales increased by 2.6% compared to the first five months of 2025."

The dip in sales, however, did not translate to a dip in prices. In fact, prices went up last month.

"The statewide median home price rose 6.8% to $352,500," the report added.

One of the reasons why prices continue to grow, real estate agents say there simply aren't enough homes for sale.

"Inventory remains constrained at 4.1 months statewide, unchanged from last year. [And] new listings increased 0.8%, and total listings increased 2.5% year over year," according to the report.

“Millennials represent our largest population cohort, and the current inventory weakness has a big impact on that demographic group," Realtors CEO Tom Larson said. "Although the homes listed at the top of the price distribution show plenty of inventory, very few first-time buyers are buying homes at or above $500,000. It’s the homes listed under $350,000 that are primary targets for new buyers, and these homes are unfortunately in very short supply.”

There are some parts of Wisconsin where buyers can find homes less than $500,000, but not many.

The report said the median home price in central Wisconsin is $289,900. But the median price in the Madison-area remains the highest in the state at $415,000. In the Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin area, the median price last month inched-up to $365,000.

Unsurprisingly, most of the homes sold last month were in the Madison and Milwaukee areas.

In all, the report said 6,553 sales closed in May. Those homes spent an average of 69 days on the market.