Analysis: Fee revenues from real estate transfers highest in nearly 40 years

State and local revenues from fees on transfers of real estate in Wisconsin increased 37% in the fiscal year 2021, the largest annual increase in nearly four decades, according to a report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum. The growth was driven by robust increases in real estate sales and residential property values during the COVID-19 pandemic. The value of homes and other properties sold in 2021 increased at the fastest rate in the past generation, according to an analysis of fee revenues from those transactions. Wisconsin’s state and local revenues from fees on the transfer of real estate properties totaled $132.6 million in the 12 months ending June 30, which is a 37% increase over the prior 12-month period in which the total revenue was $96.8 million.