Here's a quick look at the latest new construction trends in Dane County. And a quick thank you to Dominic Collar from MTD Marketing Services of Wisconsin. Dominic has been collecting this data for many years, and he continues to generously share it with us. For more information, please call Dominic at 920-450-6131. 

Dane County year-to-date housing starts

New construction remains flat, even though our population is growing. A total of 750 housing starts were recorded in Dane County through the month of July, slightly below the 773 housing starts through July of 2023. Note from the chart below that new construction is down by roughly 50 percent compared to the peak home-building years in the early 2000s. 

Average value and square footage

The average building permit value through the month of July was $519,357, which was up 8.9 percent from the average value of $476,839 through July of 2023. 

Dollar values have been increasing even though home sizes have been decreasing. The average size through July of 2024 was 2,554 square feet, compared to 2,777 last year.