THU AM News: April home sales up 25.7% over the year, WRA report shows; Lang ‘comfortable’ with pace of tax collections with revenue growth slightly ahead of projections

May 23, 2024

— Wisconsin home sales in April jumped 25.7% over the year as more houses are hitting the market and prices continue to rise, according to the Wisconsin Realtors Association.

The group’s latest report, being released today, shows 5,532 homes were sold last month compared to 4,401 in April 2023. Over the same period, total statewide listings rose 6.1%, from 16,209 in April 2023 to 17,203 last month.

Mary Jo Bowe, this year’s chair of the WRA Board of Directors, says Wisconsin “has a way to go” before the market becomes balanced, but the April figures show the state is moving in the right direction.

“The growth trend in listings has really helped our sales this year, and it bodes well for robust growth this summer,” she said in a statement.

Inventory levels increased 14.8% over the year, from 2.7 months to 3.1 months. Report authors note that improvement was seen in every region of the state, but rural counties saw the most growth over the year, rising from 3.3 months of inventory to 4.1 months in April.

At the same time, median home prices rose 6.4% over the year, from $282,000 to $300,000. On a year-to-date basis, the median price increased to $285,000, marking a 6.5% increase from the first four months of 2023.

Since the pandemic hit in 2020, median home prices in April have risen more than 40%, according to WRA consultant David Clark, a professor emeritus of economics with Marquette University. Much of that increase happened between 2020 and 2022, when median prices rose nearly 25%, he said in the report.

“In contrast, the last two years have seen 12-month home price increases of just 5.4% in April 2023, and only 6.4% in April 2024,” he wrote. “Since homeownership expenses make up about one quarter of the overall weight of the Consumer Price Index, which is the index used to measure inflation, it’s good to see some moderation in home price appreciation.”

Meanwhile, WRA President and CEO Tom Larson notes millennials’ commitment to homeownership is helping to drive home sales, highlighting a “significant unmet” housing need for buyers in this age range.

“Even though average monthly mortgage rates have been increasing throughout 2024, millennials remain committed to homeownership, which is a big reason home sales have rebounded this year,” he said.

See the release.

— State tax collections through the month of April are up 0.9% over the year before, slightly ahead of the 0.4% growth that the Legislative Fiscal Bureau had projected for 2023-24.

LFB Director Bob Lang told WisPolitics the numbers are “tracking well compared to our estimate.” April is a major month for state tax collections with individual returns due.

“We’re comfortable on where they are,” Lang said.

Yesterday’s Department of Revenue release shows income and sales tax collections are up compared to the same period a year earlier, while corporate and excise are down. Income and sales — by far — the biggest sources of state revenue. They accounted for $13.1 billion of the $16 billion the state has taken in between July 1 and April 30.

See more at WisPolitics.

— Wisconsin collected the second-most prescription drugs during the first 2024 Drug Take Back Day out of participating states, the state Department of Justice announced.

The state collected 55,122 pounds of unwanted medications through the spring program, second only to Maine with about 93,000 pounds.

A DOJ spokesperson noted Wisconsin has been the Nov. 1 state for the past several years with spring and fall collections, and Maine didn’t participate in the October 2023 collection, possibly leading to their larger total for the spring.

Since the program began in 2010 under the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Wisconsin has collected nearly 1.3 million pounds of drugs, placing it third in the ranking of states for this measure. It’s only surpassed by Texas and California, which have both collected about 1.4 million pounds, according to the state DOJ.

The agency works with the state Department of Health Services to coordinate the collection effort, which aims to reduce drug abuse and improper disposal.

“Because of Wisconsinites who safely disposed of their unwanted medications, Wisconsin’s remarkable success with the Drug Take Back program has continued,” Attorney General Josh Kaul said in a statement.

The release notes Wisconsin has 490 permanent drug disposal boxes, located at hospitals, pharmacies, health clinics and law enforcement agencies. See the full list of drop box locations.

Top headlines from the Health Care Report…

— The state Department of Health Services has announced a new mental health advertising campaign, focused on reducing stigma and promoting related resources.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 activity in Wisconsin remains low this year after falling from its latest peak at the end of last year, according to wastewater monitoring data.

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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— The State Building Commission has approved $48 million in new projects, including an addition to Versiti Blood Research Institute in Wauwatosa’s Milwaukee Regional Medical Campus.

Other approved projects include building an equipment storage facility at the Wisconsin Rapids Service Center for Department of Natural Resources programs, adding a new storage garage at the UW-Stevens Point Schmeeckle Reserve, and more than a dozen maintenance and repair projects.

See the release.

— Farmers are speeding up the spring planting process as wet conditions have abated somewhat, according to the USDA’s latest crop report.

The past week had 5.2 days suitable for fieldwork such as tillage, planting crops and cutting hay, compared to just 3.6 days in the prior week due to widespread rainfall.

The state’s corn planting was 66% complete, two days ahead of last year, while soybean planting was 57% complete — three days ahead of last year and four days ahead of the five-year average.

Oat planting was 81% complete, three days ahead of last year and two days ahead of average, while the winter wheat crop was 5% headed, which is five days ahead of last year.

Both the potato planting and spring tillage were 82% complete, just ahead of last year and the average pace.

See the report.

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