MONROE — To get their first taste of the local real estate market, most people just search it up online.
And the results do tell the story: Not much.
There are houses but not many and lacking in variety, price range and accessibility. There are nowhere near enough starter homes and as far as rentals, forget it. There was one house on a popular national real estate site under $200,000. That is the bad news.
The good news, such as it is, is twofold: One its an embarrassment of riches of sorts as the real estate market here is still historically, highly valued and two; officials from the state down to the counties, cities and economic development groups that dot the Wisconsin landscape know it’s a problem and have launched a number of efforts to improve housing availability generally and “affordable” housing more specifically.
Meanwhile, not insignificantly, numbers show Lafayette and Green Counties nearly leading the state — in second and third place, respectively — for low unemployment. The only county with better numbers recently was Dane. It has been a trend in recent years for the two counties to be in at least the top 5 of all 72 counties in the state. All of that boosts income to buy and finance housing, and is a foundation of demand and a robust tax base.
And while local official, realtors and lenders say things must improve on the supply side, there is more pressure than is typical on the cost side — lumber and labor, for example — so it is complicating things further for the average buyer or even seller who must find a similar or better property, experts say.
“There’s just a lack of supply,” said Ron Schaaf, President of New Glarus Bank, which has branches in Green and Lafayette Counties. “And for years it has been a problem.”
Another wild card is rising interest rates.
“A lot of people have a lot of equity here,” said Scott DeNure, president and CEO of major local lender, Woodford State Bank. “But they don’t want to then turn around and try to afford these high prices for a new place and with higher interest rates than they financed their loans with.”
More up to date, but less reliable stats are available, but consider that in 2021 the average price of a two-bedroom apartment in the Monroe area was at about $850 month, according to one algorithmic-seeming online estimate. Few apartments are under $1,000 a month, and there are not many available, under that amount.
Mayor Donna Douglas has repeatedly said that amid the soaring real-estate market, the city should make affordable housing in general a priority, though experts say it is tough to spark construction of multi-unit and affordable housing through public policy. Douglas points to the city’s recent approval of a senior living complex in Monroe as a positive step in that direction. In addition, she said, municipalities can create Tax Increment Financing Districts — such as the TID 20 district that was recently discussed by the council.
Douglas and other leaders broke ground over a year ago on Haven Hills, a subdivision of four-plex, condo style homes, some of the first new residential construction developments in some time. Some of those are still available, but they are likely not starter homes.
The city also is planning new residential development adjacent to the high school site, and long-term, more development on the former high school site. All that new construction may not help with affordable housing directly, but it has an impact, said Schaaf.
“When families upgrade their housing, it can put an affordable house on the market,” said Denure.
Michelle Davis, vice president of mortgage/commercial lending at the bank, said there several new grants many would-be and first-time homeowners don’t know about and it can be tricky to navigate and take advantage of without an advisor.
“That’s definitely something to get a professional to help you with,” she said.
One example is from the state:
This year, Wisconsin launches a new Medicaid-funded initiative to provide housing support services to members affected by substance use or mental health issues and experiencing housing insecurity. The state is among the first in the nation to use Medicaid funding for housing solutions aimed at improving health outcomes for these vulnerable individuals. No word one if that funding will survive federally under the new administration, however.
“This new program offers a support system grounded in the stability, dignity, and well-being that secure housing can provide,” said Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary-designee Kirsten Johnson said, last year.
More good news statewide:
● Wisconsin has been identified as the state reporting the fifth-highest percentage rise between 2019 and 2024 in homeownership at 7.54%.
● Wisconsin’s homeownership rate reached its highest point in 2021 over the past five years, at 69.9%
● Homeownership in the state was 63.7% in 2019 and now stands at 68.5%.