Milwaukee metro HousingGauge — October 5, 2026 | RED 43

Welcome to the Milwaukee metro HousingGauge, your weekly local market report for the week of October 5, 2026.

Here is the headline. Milwaukee metro's HousingGauge score is 43 out of 100, which puts the market in the RED zone. Conditions have weakened over the past three months, and financing remains expensive.

Three developments stand out this week.

First: Milwaukee metro turned RED. The score moved from 47 to 43, crossing from YELLOW into RED.

Second: Score down 15 points over 13 weeks. The score moved from 58 to 43 over the past 13 weeks, driven mainly by Mortgage Conditions (−7.0 points).

Third: Mortgage rates up 0.85 points in three months. The 30-year fixed rate averages 7.28%, versus 6.43% three months ago.

Now, what is behind the score?

Mortgage Conditions scores 12 out of 100. The 30-year fixed rate averages 7.28%, up 0.82 percentage points over six months. Financing remains expensive, limiting affordability for leveraged buyers.

Supply & Buyer Leverage scores 38 out of 100. Inventory is 3.6% higher than a year ago (3,513 active listings), with 2.5 months of supply. Homes take a median 45 days to sell at 99.8% of list price, and 13.1% of listings have had a price cut. Sellers retain most of the negotiating leverage.

Monetary Conditions scores 53 out of 100. The real policy rate is 1.24%, 0.23 points above the estimated neutral rate (r-star) of 1.01% — a near neutral stance. The fed funds rate has risen 0.24 points over six months.

Demand Trend scores 58 out of 100. Pending sales are 2.9% higher than a year ago and closed sales are 0.8% higher. Days on market are 2.3% longer than a year ago. Demand is steady.

Valuation & Affordability scores 59 out of 100. The median home costs 5.0 times the median household income. Principal and interest on a typical purchase would take 32.8% of that income at current rates. Inflation-adjusted prices are 4.1% higher than a year ago. Affordability is stretched but not extreme.

Rental Economics scores 62 out of 100. A year of median rent equals 4.8% of the median price (a price-to-rent ratio of 20.8). Rents are up 5.0% year over year. Rental economics are middling.

The score is down 4 points from last week's report (47 to 43). Over 13 weeks it is down 15 points, from 58 to 43. The largest contributors were Mortgage Conditions (−7.0 points) and Monetary Conditions (−3.2 points).

So what would move Milwaukee metro into the yellow? It is close: any one of these would likely do it on its own: 30-year mortgage rate falls below 6.90% (now 7.28%); pending sales grow more than 8.0% year over year (now +2.9%); the Fed cuts more than 0.10 pts over six months (now +0.24 pts); and policy gap (real policy rate minus r-star) narrows below −0.30 pts (now +0.23 pts).

And what could make conditions worse? Watch for these together: 30-year mortgage rate rises above 7.60% (now 7.28%); pending sales fall more than 1.5% year over year (now +2.9%); the Fed raises rates more than 0.45 pts over six months (now +0.24 pts); policy gap (real policy rate minus r-star) widens above +0.55 pts (now +0.23 pts); and months of supply falls below 1.8 months (now 2.5 months).

That is the Milwaukee metro HousingGauge for this week. The HousingGauge score describes market conditions. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell, and it is not individualized financial advice. For charts, sources and the full methodology, visit housinggauge.com. Thanks for listening.