Growing our Economy with More Workforce Housing
HELP PROVIDE HOUSING FOR OUR GROWING ECONOMYLEGISLATION
SB 172/ AB 156 Workforce housing multi-family tax
AB 603: Shovel-ready workforce housing sites
AB 605: Municipal workforce housing incentives
AB 606: Sales tax exemption for construction materials
AB 607: WHEDA workforce housing rehabilitation loans
AB 608: Regulatory reform
AB 609: Local housing investment fund
AB 610: Prohibiting certain property tax assessments
Wisconsin employers are having difficulty recruiting workers to fill thousands of job openings due to a shortage of affordable housing options for workers.
With statewide housing inventory levels at historic lows, median home prices continuing to rise, and apartment rent increases outpacing wage growth, Wisconsin has a major workforce housing shortage problem. Unless this workforce housing problem is fixed, Wisconsin will struggle to keep and attract the skilled workers necessary for our economy to thrive.
Single-family Home Permits 2004
Single-family Home Permits 2017
The Wisconsin REALTORS® Association released a groundbreaking study, “Falling Behind,” that shows a severe workforce housing shortage and highlights the need for bold, bipartisan action now to address this growing concern.
From the more than 30,000 single-family home permits authorized in 2004 to fewer than 12,500 permits authorized in 2017, Wisconsin is on the cusp of failing to adequately provide housing for today’s growing workforce needs.
The REALTORS® support legislation seeking to promote workforce housing by providing local governments incentives to reform local development regulations to lower housing costs, and greater flexibility to use tax increment financing for the purposes of providing additional workforce housing.
Victories
2012 Wisconsin Act 221 - Wisconsin Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program
Resources
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Year-Over-Year Dip in Home Sales (February)
Additional Resources
Industry expert predicts declining statewide home sales during peak months due to low listings
Read more on the BizTimes
Homeownership dreams foiled by a ‘perfect storm’
Read more on the PBS Wisconsin
Fast Facts: Wisconsin’s rising housing costs
Read more on the PBS Wisconsin
Moore, Steil discuss housing inequities in Milwaukee
Read more on the PBS Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s roller coaster housing market for millennials
Newsmakers: Update on Workforce Housing Shortage
Walworth County Owner-Occupied Housing Report
AN ANALYSIS OF WALWORTH COUNTY AND ADJACENT COMMUNITIES
Of particular note, our results suggest a significant shortage of affordable owner-occupied housing — i.e., the price bracket of homes that includes starter homes.
Policy that addresses this sector of the housing market — for example, policies that reduce fixed development costs, which most heavily impact the development of the most affordable homes— may improve the overall health of the entire housing market and ensure that there is sufficient supply of
affordable owner-occupied homes.
One change that could encourage housing development is to establish a consistent schedule of low fees and non-onerous regulations across communities, or setting reduced fees for starter-priced homes. The fees, permits and processes a prospective developer must adhere to vary considerably between communities. These hurdles create inefficient “shoe leather” costs, or the additional costs from time and effort that developers are required to incur while parsing through differing standards.
The additional costs are inevitably passed on to the homebuyer or may even discourage developers from constructing affordable owner-occupied housing altogether and instead choose to construct larger homes with higher profit margins where these costs can be more easily absorbed. Ultimately, such costs are either passed on to the homebuyer, prevent the expansion of the affordable owner-occupied housing stock, or both.
Wisconsin’s Housing Challenge: Inadequate supply, declining affordability
Prof. Kurt Paulsen, October 2021
Wisconsin Real Estate and Economic Outlook Conference
Stories
State Republicans Propose New Zoning and Development Bills
City, county groups push back against GOP bills geared toward affordable housing, property assessments
Wisconsin Assembly passes workforce housing bills
