(The Center Square) – People continue to buy houses in Wisconsin, and they continue to pay more to do so.

The latest Wisconsin Realtors Report shows an uptick in both sales and prices.

“For the second straight month, Wisconsin home sales increased by a healthy margin, which put strong upward pressure on home prices. Existing home sales in July 2026 rose 8.1% compared to July 2025, and the statewide median price increased 6.8% over that same period to $360,000," the report for July's sales notes.

Real estate agents say 7,512 homes sold across the state in July, up by about 560 homes from July of last year. The median price of $360,000 is also up, by about $23,000 from last July. There were less than 25,000 homes on the market in the state last month, just a few hundred more than July of 2025.

“The state has technically been in a seller’s market for the past nine years, and strong price pressure and relatively high mortgage rates have severely eroded affordability. Still, demand remains quite strong, especially among millennials, who have had to adjust to the new normal of mortgage rates in the 6% to 7% range,” Realtors CEO Tom Larson said. “While challenging for first-time buyers, this should continue to drive growth in sales over the remainder of the year.”

Wisconsin continues to have an affordability problem, tied largely to those higher interest rates and a lack of inventory.

“So far, we’ve seen a solid housing market this summer as statewide home sales are up nearly 8% compared to June 2025 and July 2025. This is the strongest first two months of peak summer sales since 2022 when mortgage rates began increasing," the Realtors Amy Curler added.

The $360,000 median price is, as always, a statewide number. Homes in the Milwaukee and Madison areas remain more expensive.

The median price for a home in southeast Wisconsin jumped to $376,520 in July. While the median price in south central Wisconsin, the Madison area, jumped to $401,476.

The lowest home prices in Wisconsin continue to be in the central part of the state, where the median price is $280,000.

The Realtors Report said most houses in the state sold for prices between $200,000 and $349,999. Most of those homes sold in either the Milwaukee or Madison areas.