Madison area home prices continued to rise in November, and by all measures. 

• The price per square foot grew from $228 in November of 2023 to $243 in November of 2024, up 7 percent. 
• The average price grew from $496,203 to $519,471, an increase of 5 percent. 
• The median price grew from $430,000 to $469,000, a jump of 9 percent. 

366

New MLS listings 

November was a slower month for new single family home listings, bucking the recent trend of more homes hitting the market. A total of 252 Dane County homes were listed for sale in November, down from the 276 homes in November of 2023. Our feeling is some people were feeling a little uncertain about their real estate plans due to the recent elections. We do believe listing activity

Madison area home and condo listings quietly increased through the first 10 months of the year, but reversed course somewhat in the month of November. Our sense is some folks put their real estate plans on hold last month, due to uncertainty about the election. 

As we recently noted in our 2025 real estate predictions, we do expect listing activity to pick up again on the other side of the holidays. Here are the numbers for Dane County homes and condos in the month of November. 

November single family home listings

A total of 252 Dane County homes were listed for sale in November, the second lowest on record for the month. Only November of 2022 had a lower total -- 246. 

November condo listings

A total of 71 Dane County condos were

What does the future hold for Madison area real estate? Here's a quick review of our predictions for the year ahead. 

1) Mortgage rates will decrease slightly. The Mortgage Bankers Association is predicting rates for 30-year fixed rate mortgages to hover between 6.4% and 6.6%. 

2) Demand for Madison area real estate will remain strong. We expect our strong local economy, our region's national reputation, and climate migration will continue to fuel Dane County's growing population in the year ahead. 

3) New residential listings and sales will increase by 5 to 10 percent. New listings and sales have been quietly increasing in 2024. We expect this trend to continue into the new year as more people decide to enter the market. 

4) Home and condo

According to a recent article by the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission, Dane County added almost 10,000 residents in 2023, which once again made our county the fastest growing region in the state. 

We expect our strong local economy, our region's national reputation, and climate migration to fuel much more population growth in the years ahead. The demand for housing will remain strong, and we'll need to continue to build more homes, condos, and apartments to accommodate the influx of new residents. 

Foreclosure and short sale listings are uncommon occurrences in the Madison area, and continue to trend near historically low levels. As the chart below shows, a total of 214 Dane County foreclosures were filed through the first 10 months of 2024, compared to 1,475 through the first 10 months of 2010.

In other words, foreclosure filings this year are down 85% from the peak. 

We expect more of the same in 2025, which is just one more reason why we're predicting a competitive market with low inventory in the year ahead. 

New homes are popping up all over the Madison area, but the numbers show the pace of new construction is down by about 50% from the peak home-building years in the early 2000's. As the chart below shows, a total of 1,095 Dane County housing starts were initiated through the first 10 months of 2024, compared to 2,147 through the first 10 months of 2004.

At the same time, Dane County's population continues to grow faster than any other county in the state. This is one of many reasons why we expect 2025 to be another highly competitive market in the Madison area. We'll have more mini-market updates and more insight to share in the days ahead. Stay tuned...

A special thanks to Dan Lallensack from MTD Marketing Services of Wisconsin for sharing his

Here's our update on the Dane County condominium market, covering the month of October, 2024. All numbers are sourced from the South Central Wisconsin MLS.  

October 2024 condo prices

Madison area condo prices were relatively flat compared to the year before:

• The price per square foot was even at $223. 
• The median price grew from $295,000 to $301,500, an increase of 2 percent. 
• The average price rose from $344,161 to $358,852, an increase of 4 percent. 

We'll be monitoring condo prices closely in the months ahead. 

New condo listings

October was an encouraging month for our local condo market. A total of 150 Dane County condos were listed for sale last month, which was the highest for any month of October in the last 5

Here's our update on the Dane County single family home market, covering the month of October, 2024. All numbers are sourced from the South Central Wisconsin MLS.  

October 2024 home prices

Madison area home prices continued to rise by all measures:

• The price per square foot rose from $228 in October of 2023 to $231 in October of 2024, an increase of 1 percent. 
• The median price grew from $420,000 to $455,000, an increase of 8 percent. 
• The average price rose from $486,028 to $509,127, an increase of 5 percent. 

We'll be monitoring prices closely in the months ahead. 

New MLS listings

MLS listings were up significantly from each of the last two Octobers. A total of 470 Dane County homes were listed for sale last

More homes and condos were listed for sale in October, and buyers responded by writing more offers. 

Single family homes

A total of 405 Dane County single family homes went under contract last month, up from the 366 that went under contract in October of 2023. 

Condos

In the Dane County condo market, 112 listings went under contract last month, up from the 93 that went under contract last October. 

Encouraging signs

More listings and more accepted offers are exactly what our market needs to get more buyers into more homes. Stay tuned for our full reports on the Madison area home and condo markets, which we'll be publishing real soon. 

We have more encouraging news to share about the Madison area real estate market: Dane County condo listings jumped noticeably higher in October and were the highest for any month of October in the last 5 years. 

We'll have many more observations to share about our local real estate market in the next few days. In the meantime, we're encouraged by the recent increase in home and condo listings. This is exactly what we need for more balance to return to our market.