Browsing: Housing

New single-family home permitting in Wisconsin increased last year, with 13,335 new homes permitted in 2025.

Wisconsin house prices in the first quarter of 2026 are 67 percent higher than they were in the first quarter of 2020, data from the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency show.

Gov. Evers has signed a crucial housing bill pushed by Republicans who say it will increase supply and bring down cost while still allowing municipalities to control whether they want to grow.

The Badger Institute applauded Gov. Tony Evers and Republican legislators for passage of a crucial housing bill that will increase supply and bring down cost while still allowing municipalities to control whether they want to grow.

A bill that will ultimately help increase housing supply, make homes more affordable and still allow local municipalities to control where and how fast they grow passed through the Wisconsin Senate this week and was expected to pass in the Assembly Thursday as well.

Most property taxpayers in larger Wisconsin counties paid somewhat more in 2024 than in 2023, although some — those in Washington, Jefferson, Rock, Kenosha and Dodge — saw decreases.

The dire need for more houses in America has even regulation heavy cities like Los Angeles, New York City, Minneapolis and St. Paul streamlining rules — and providing a playbook for Wisconsin.

The rental vacancy rate in Wisconsin reached its lowest level in over 30 years last year, dropping by one full percentage point between 2023 and 2024, figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show.

The Wisconsin Assembly voted largely along party lines this week in support of a crucial housing bill, AB453, that will rein in NIMBYism — the “not in my back yard” outcry that greets developers trying to increase housing supply in communities where elected officials want the same thing.

Mike Nichols, president of the Badger Institute, testifies concerning AB 453, a bill which would bring clarity and transparency to the housing development process by requiring municipalities to align zoning ordinances with publicly determined comprehensive plans.

After a storm of controversy surrounding the old Egg Harbor property, the owner of the Alpine Resort no longer thinks it’s “worth it” to make his home among such neighbors.

A new requirement to hire a “special inspector” to be on hand during construction will add an estimated $20,000 to any store, school, office, factory or apartment building in the Wisconsin.

The number of building permits issued for new single-family homes in Wisconsin remains well below pre-Great Recession levels, data from the Wisconsin Builders Association show.

There are 541 days until the next Legislature’s sworn in, and there’s plenty of unfinished business

The Badger Institute is offering lawmakers a compilation of our year of research into how to make Wisconsin housing more attainable.

“The ideal situation is to have an alignment of the comprehensive plan and the zoning code to provide as many certainties as possible.”

How big a factor are regulatory costs? According to one study, the cost of regulation would be $95,000 on a $400,000 home.

Rent control policies result in a lower stock of available housing, a lower quality of available housing, increased rents for properties that are not controlled, and spillover effects that harm those in the surrounding community.

According to one housing developer, cooperation with the city is a way for both parties to leave Manitowoc a better place.

Cities could ease the squeeze of low housing supply by allowing more market-driven urban infill, say scholars at the American Enterprise Institute.