Browsing: Housing

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.

Allowing more home construction on smaller lots in Wisconsin would substantially drive down prices, according to a new analysis by scholars at the American Enterprise Institute.

Unlike many places in Wisconsin, there is no housing crisis in the Village of Hobart because its leaders have done something developers say is exceedingly rare — making it as easy and predictable as possible for them to do business there.

Those who staff emergency medical services in Door County, WI can’t easily afford to live there… and there’s little sign that things are soon to get better.

Wisconsin residents report the increasing strain of trying to afford a home. These experiences are borne out by market data showing more Wisconsin residents priced out of homeownership.

First in a series on housing in the Badger State, Out of reach: Wisconsin’s housing crisis and hope for the…

What do Wisconsinites want in 2025? Just the chance to buy a modest house and heat it affordably. A safe place away from gunshots and a job that pays the bills. And a really good school where kids feel safe and hopeful.