Marathon County home prices increase outpaces state

Getting Real with Real Estate: The quarterly Marathon County Real Estate report

Every once in a while, I decide it’s time to dabble in real estate investment.

It most recently happened this month, when I searched for some potential rental properties. I found a really nice-looking property — one I wouldn’t mind living in myself.

Then I ran the numbers.

Yikes.

Based on the rents the current tenants were paying, investing in the property would have cost $440 per month. More appropriate rents would have brought it to roughly the break-even point, but even then that didn’t include setting aside money for the expenses that come with owning real estate.

There’s a reason why, by the way. When the current owner bought the property over ten years ago, it probably did make sense. They paid half of what the asking price is now, and the rents would have covered what they needed to offset the costs.

That’s because real estate prices have been increasing every year, and this quarter they did something atypical: They increased more than state prices, and by a lot.

Here is how much prices increased this quarter in Marathon County:

• April: $280,500, up 13.6%

• May: $290,000, up 17.9%

• June: $295,000, up 12.6%

By comparison, statewide increases were between 5.9% and 6.9%.

The full market picture

Marathon County’s housing market is changing quickly — and the numbers increasingly don’t work the way they did even a few years ago.

Paid subscribers can continue with the complete Getting Real with Real Estate Report, including:

• How close Marathon County home prices are getting to the statewide median

• What has happened to local affordability over the past decade

• Why rental-property math is becoming increasingly difficult

• How rents are changing compared with home prices

• The impact of more than 190 new apartment and senior-living units

• Why the housing shortage can continue even without major population growth

The Getting Real with Real Estate Report turns sales data, rent figures, development activity and local market trends into a readable picture of where housing in Marathon County is headed.

Upgrade to read the full report and receive every future edition.