January 2025 · Market · 3 min read · by Kinan Sawar, MD — REALTOR® at Shorewest, REALTORS®
After two frozen years, 2025 looks like the year the market starts to move again — slowly, and very unevenly.
Two years of forecasts calling for a thaw were early. 2025 may finally be the year the ice cracks — gently.
Inventory is rebuilding, buyers have regained a little leverage, and the panic of the rate shock has faded into a grinding new normal. Expect flat-to-modest price growth nationally, with far more action beneath the surface.
The single number to watch isn’t the national average — it’s the spread. Overvalued, overbuilt Sun Belt metros look set to keep softening, while affordable and supply-constrained markets hold firm. One country, two housing markets.
Buyers: more choice and negotiating room than any time since 2019. Sellers: the days of naming your price are over — price to the comps or sit. Check inventory and price-cut trends in your county before you decide.
Kinan Sawar, MD — REALTOR® at Shorewest, REALTORS®, serving Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin (Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Racine, Kenosha, and Walworth counties). Email: [email protected] · Phone: (618) 713-2964.
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Home values and rents are Zillow ZHVI/ZORI estimates for the named area, as of 2026-07-03; incomes and population are U.S. Census (SAIPE, Population Estimates); migration is IRS Statistics of Income. Area-level statistical estimates for information only — not an appraisal, and not financial, legal, or tax advice.