Housing sales declined last year across the tri-state area, mirroring nationwide trends driven by rising mortgage rates and diminished inventory. Recent data from area real estate agents shows that local home sales were down last year compared to 2022, while prices remained more or less stagnant. There were 1,352 homes sold in Dubuque and the surrounding area last year, according to data from East Central Iowa Association of Realtors, a 14% decrease from the 1,579 homes sold in 2022. In 2021, 1,743 homes were sold. Home prices increased slightly, with the 2023 average totaling $257,682 in comparison to an average sale price of $253,693 in 2022. Northwest Illinois had a record-low average of 174 homes for sale each month last year in Jo Daviess, Stephenson and Carroll counties, according to the Northwest Illinois Alliance of Realtors. There were 973 homes sold in the tri-county area. In 2022, that figure was 1,096. According to data from South Central Wisconsin MLS, there were 746 homes sold across Grant, Iowa and Lafayette counties last year at an average price of $247,707. That’s compared to 2022, when a total of 798 tri-county homes sold at an average price of $251,579.
