Local home prices continued to move higher in the month of February. Here's our latest update on the Dane County single family home market.  

Dane County home prices 

Home prices in the month of February:

• The price per square foot increased from $216 to $242 (12 percent).
• The average price increased from $449,298 to $494,752 (10 percent). 
• The median price increased from $420,000 to $452,678 (8 percent).

New listings

New listings rose for the fourth straight month (an encouraging trend), but still remained well below what our market is demanding. A total of of 459 single family homes were listed for sale on the MLS in the month of February, which was the third lowest total for any month of February this century. 

Active listings

Active listings (those without an accepted offer) are up from each of the last two years, but listing availability is still running low. A total of 444 Dane County single family homes (or 1.1 months of supply) were available on the MLS on March 8th, 2024. 

Accepted offers

Dane County contract signings continue to trend lower. A total of 375 listings went under contract in February, which was the lowest total for any month of February in the last 13 years. 

Competing offers

The percentage of listings receiving multiple offers continues to run much higher than an in the pre-pandemic market. This is one clear sign of pent-up demand in the Madison area, where the number of buyers exceeds the number of sellers. According to our preliminary data for the month of January, 40 percent of all accepted offers involved multiple offers in January of 2024, compared to 23 percent in January of 2019. 

Note how buyer competition varies by the seasons. Competition is highest in the springtime and early summer and lowest in the fall and early winter. 

Cash offers

Cash offers are also occurring more often in our post-pandemic market, which is another clear sign of pent up demand. The cash offer percentage jumped from 9% in February of 2019 to 18% in February of 2024. 

Days on market

Marketing times continue to trend near historically low levels, which is a third clear indicator of pent up demand. 

Dane County home sales

Madison area home sales increased slightly from February of 2023, but in the big picture remained low. Low supply continues to limit home sales in Dane County. 

What to expect for the rest of 2024

We're seeing signs that more people are choosing to sell this year, which should help more buyers get into homes in 2024. With that said, supply remains tight and our population continues to grow. For these and a other reasons, we expect the market will continue to be competitive and prices will continue to rise for the foreseeable future. 

What questions do you have about the Madison area real estate market in the coming year? Please reach out to us with all of your questions. We're always available to share what we know, and never with any sales pressure or spin.