March home sales in Wisconsin increased 7% over the year after a weak start to 2026, bringing first-quarter sales totals above the same period of last year.
That’s according to the latest monthly report from the Wisconsin Realtors Association, which shows 4,750 homes were sold last month, compared to 4,441 in March 2025.
Amy Curler, board chair for WRA, notes this rebound follows a “slow start” for Wisconsin home sales in both January and February.
“As we enter the peak period for sales, it’s good to see this bounce in closings, and hopefully it continues into the summer,” she said in a statement.
As a result of March’s year-over-year increase, the total sales figure for the first quarter of 2026 ended up 2.1% higher than during the same period of last year, rising from 11,864 to 12,109.
Most regions of the state saw sales increases over the quarter, as the central, south central, southeastern and western regions each rose between 2.1% and 3.6%. The northeastern region had a 0.7% increase and the northern region had a 3.8% decline over the quarter, the report shows.
Meanwhile, median home prices continue their upward climb in Wisconsin, rising 6.5% over the year to $330,000 in March. On a quarterly basis, the median price rose by 6.7% to $320,000.
WRA President and CEO Tom Larson notes home affordability “stalled” in March after four months of improvement. That’s based on the group’s housing affordability index, which assesses the percentage of a median-priced home that a potential buyer with median income qualifies for, assuming 20% down and a 30-year fixed mortgage at current rates.
Larson points to rising prices for homes as a key factor, along with only “modest improvements” in family income and mortgage rates keeping pace with price increases.
“Supply remains tight, so we really need to see consistent reductions in mortgage rates for affordability to improve,” he wrote in the report.
WRA reports available home inventories dropped by 2.9% over the year to just 3.3 months, just above half of the 6-month benchmark the group considers a balanced market. Total listings increased by just 0.3% over the year, per the report.
Also in the report, economist and WRA consultant Dave Clark noted disruption of global oil supplies due to the war in Iran has spiked annual inflation rates, with headline inflation going from 2.4% in January and February to 3.3% in March.
The “core inflation” rate, which factors out food and energy sectors, increased more modestly from 2.5% in the first two months of 2026 to 2.6% in March, Clark noted.
“While the Fed focuses on core inflation when gauging inflationary pressures, we shouldn’t expect to see any interest rate cuts by the Fed until both measures of inflation settle back down to pre-war levels,” he wrote.
See the full report.
