Home prices continued to rise in the month of May, and by all measures. Here's our latest report and commentary on the Madison area single family home market.
Dane County home prices
The price per square foot grew by 6 percent year-over-year, and by 7 percent year-to-date.
Dane County home prices were up by all measures:
- The price per square foot grew from $230 in May of 2023 to $244 in May of 2024 (an increase of 6 percent).
- The average price grew from $519,479 to $550,576 (up by 6 percent).
- The median price increased from $450,000 to $494,000 (up by 10 percent).
New MLS Listings
Listing activity improved slightly in the month of May, but remained low compared to most other years this century. We expect home values to continue to appreciate throughout the year, due the the limited supply of new listings entering the market.
Single family home inventory
Dane County inventory is better than it has been each of the last two summers, but still remains low for the demand we have in our market. A total of 1.3 months of supply were available for sale as of June 6th, 2024.
Accepted offers
Contract signings were on par with the levels from May of 2023, and were the lowest for any month of May since 2011. Low supply is limiting the number of contracts written in 2024.
Competing offers
The percentage of listings receiving multiple offers continues to trend well above pre-pandemic levels. This is one clear sign of pent-up demand in the Madison area.
Cash offers
Another sign of pent-up demand is the high percentage of homes receiving cash offers. The cash offer percentage continues to run well above pre-pandemic levels.
Days on market
Relatively low days on market are a third indicator of pent-up demand. The average days on market in the month of May was only 25 days.
Dane County home sales
Madison area home sales did improve from May of 2023, but were the 5th lowest for any month of May dating back to the year 2000.
What to expect for the rest of 2024
We expect home sales to track slightly above the levels from 2023, and higher home prices, too. Although inventory has been improving, we expect relatively high percentages of competing offers and cash offers due to the continued strong demand for real estate in the Madison area.
