Increase in Wisconsin house prices over time

Wisconsin house prices are among the fastest growing in the country, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency. The Badger State experienced a 9.9% increase in the FHFA House Price Index between April 2023 and April 2024.

The only states that saw larger price increases were Vermont, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware. The national average increase was 6.6%.

As the graph above shows, prices have been on the rise since January 2014. Since 2021, however, Wisconsin has faced much sharper price increases. 

The FHFA figure comports with other findings. In its April 2024 release, the Wisconsin Realtors Association reported that due to rising prices and mortgage rates, which outpaced family incomes, statewide housing affordability decreased 10.1% over the past 12 months. The WRA also measures home sale prices in Wisconsin; the Badger Institute reported on its median-price findings in May.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency HPI represents the change in prices of single-family homes over time. FHFA tracks the price changes of detached single-family properties each time they are sold or refinanced and averages them together to construct the HPI. The price index is standardized with a value of 100 for the base year of 1980. The FHFA reviews transactions on all properties whose mortgages have been purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

The underlying numbers