THU AM News: December home sales had ‘solid growth,’ WRA report shows; UW expert discusses immigration impact on economy

January 22, 2026

— Wisconsin home sales saw “solid growth” of 4.4% in December, improving on what was already a strong performance a year ago.

That’s according to the latest Wisconsin Realtors Association report, which shows 5,446 homes were sold in the state last month, up from 5,215 in December 2024. The group notes that’s “especially impressive” as the previous December had very strong sales growth over the prior year.

For the year overall, home sales were 2% higher in 2025 than in 2024, rising to 69,132 from 67,771.

Home prices also rose last year, increasing 2.5% from $305,000 in December 2024 to $312,750 last month. For the year overall, the median price rose by 4.8% to $325,000.

“It’s good to see a second straight year of improved sales in the Wisconsin housing market, and the moderation of price appreciation to a more sustainable level below 5% is also a welcome sign,” said Amy Curler, board chair for the WRA.

And though total statewide listings crept up 0.1% to 16,709 in December, new listings had fallen by 5.9% and available inventory had dropped 3.3% over the year, the report shows.

“This continues to be a strong seller’s market statewide, and total listings would need to more than double with an increase of 107% to return to a balanced market with six months of supply,” authors wrote.

Still, mortgage rates have declined, going from 6.72% to 6.19% over the course of 2025. WRA President and CEO Tom Larson says it’s now clear that rates have been consistently dropping since peaking around 7% in January 2025.

“Hopefully, this trend continues into 2026 and combines with moderate sustainable price appreciation and income growth to improve the affordability of Wisconsin homes,” he said.

See the report.

— A UW-Madison economist raised the possibility of weighing economic contributions in deportation decisions.

Jeff Smith, a professor in the UW-Madison Department of Economics, spoke this week during a livestream hosted by the Wisconsin Alumni Association. The discussion was focused on immigration and the economy, coming amid increased federal immigration enforcement activity under the Trump administration.

Smith noted immigration leads to higher costs for local governments.

“Because oftentimes … immigrants have kids, and those kids are going to school and that’s expensive, and many of the immigrants won’t be making enough to where their taxes cover that cost,” he said.

Still, it also improves the outlook federally for Social Security, he added, given the higher number of people contributing to the program. He also touted the impact of immigrants on entrepreneurship and innovation.

“They start a lot of businesses, that’s a nice thing,” he said. “At the upper education levels, immigrants are responsible for a lot of innovation.”

Smith also noted “pretty much everyone agrees” that immigration is either a net-positive for the labor market or “a wash” in the long run. But in the short run, he noted many low-skill workers entering the country will lead to lower wages for low-skill natives.

“We probably have not done a very good job of compensating the losers, as we try to do when workers are impacted by international trade, for example,” he said, pointing to the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act. “We don’t really have anything like that for workers whose jobs are affected by immigration.”

In a segment on deportation policy, Smith noted other factors besides criminal history could be used in making these decisions.

“How long people have been here could be a criterion, how big an economic contribution they’re making, whether or not they have U.S. citizens as their immediate family could be a criterion,” he said.

Watch the full discussion here.

— A drug discovery company called FAR Biotech has moved to Wisconsin to build on partnerships with researchers in the state.

The company yesterday announced it has set up shop at Forward BIOLABS in Madison.

Max Duckworth, co-founder and director for FAR Biotech, says the team is “thrilled” to join the state’s biohealth community.

“Wisconsin offers scientific excellence and pedigree, a collaborative and entrepreneurial culture, and a strategic, forward-looking mindset,” he said in a statement. “With this move, FAR Biotech is not just opening an office in Madison — we’re committed to building and growing here.”

The business, which is part of the Johnson & Johnson Innovation JLABS ecosystem, was formerly based in Houston, according to an earlier announcement. It’s developing a new drug discovery approach based on quantum mechanics and a proprietary AI system called QuantumAI.

This technology platform has been validated for use across various drug targets, including more difficult ones in oncology, infectious disease and neurodegeneration, according to the announcement. It also notes QuantumAI needs “substantially fewer computational resources” than other AI models, calling that a key advantage amid rising demand for the technology.

The move to Wisconsin comes as FAR Biotech has worked with researchers at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health’s McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, as well as others at the Versiti Blood Research Institute in Milwaukee. The company says it plans to form more research partnerships in the state in the months to come.

Martin Martinov, another company founder and director, is touting Wisconsin’s “depth of scientific thinking” and openness to take on challenging problems.

“Being able to advance our first-principles quantum approach and discover novel therapeutics in close collaboration with world-class researchers here is really exciting,” he said.

See more in the release.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

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— Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu was noncommittal about legislation that cleared the Assembly seeking to place new regulations on data centers, including a provision that would shield other ratepayers from the costs to power the new operations.

The bill was formally introduced two weeks ago, cleared an Assembly committee last week and hit the floor this week.

“It seems like often bills are rushed through the Assembly,” LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said yesterday. “We take our time in the Senate. I like the intent of the bill, but we haven’t had a whole caucus discussion on it yet.”

During Tuesday’s floor debate, Assembly Dems argued AB 840 was rushed and would be ineffective. That prompted GOP Rep. Shannon Zimmerman, a co-sponsor, to retort the bill is a first step in regulating data centers and urged Dems not to “squander” the opportunity.

LeMahieu said the Senate will be on the floor in February and March, giving it plenty of time to work on the legislation. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, has said that chamber plans to adjourn for the session by the end of the February floor period.

Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from a new WisBusiness column by Buckley Brinkman, advisor to the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity.

— Thank you for investing a few of your minutes in this experiment. An experiment to engage people around the key opportunities facing Wisconsin and how we can address them Wisconsibly — practically, collectively, and in a way that leaves us all in a better place.

Let’s try to quiet the noise and slow the back and forth mayhem that wastes so much energy. Mayhem is an amusing guy in the insurance commercials, but not so much in real life. I think we start by using our personal gratitude for our own circumstances to unlock a wellspring of grace for those around us. We can disagree and believe that we want the best for each other. My Dad had a phrase that always made me stop and think when someone blew up in outrage; “I wonder what God has them up to today.” If we can all pause and ask that question, displays of grace become much easier and more comfortable.

I intend to focus on real-world ironies and paradoxes. We have the ability to hold onto two conflicting thoughts at once and see how they mesh. Remember Yogi Berra and how he would do that? He had many “Yogiisms” and one I remember was, “No one goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” The statements conflict, but somehow they make sense.

These musings should lead to new ideas – more from you than from me – and conversations that advance those ideas. Let’s eliminate words from our vocabulary that stunt that process – but, always, never, and should start my list. Let’s treat our words with care and say what we really mean so that we can get to, “yes…and…” in our tough discussions.

Read the full column here.

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