Wisconsin State of Housing: Realtor Government Day Legislative Updates

[Sonya Mays]

On April 17, 2025, over 700 registered attendees descended on the state Capitol in Madison, WI for the Realtor & Government Day 2025 (RGD).

The key discussions focused on housing supply and affordability, and also touched on other topics such as the $525M WHEDA loan program, Koble landlord/tenant case, and real estate transfer tax.

Housing Inventory

The supply of housing remains at historic lows which directly impacts home prices, driving up the price of homes and making housing affordability less attainable for some homebuyers.

According to RGD speakers and materials, we need "200,000 new housing units" to support Wisconsin's "population and workforce".

In 2024, there was a 19% increase in construction permits, but we're still far behind and lack sufficient inventory to meet buyer demand. In February, the monthly supply of homes dropped from 2.9 to 2.8, according to the WRA (Wisconsin Realtors Association) housing report. 

In a balanced market, we should see between 4 to 6 months of housing inventory. We are well below these levels, making it a challenging market for homebuyers.

The legislation aimed to address housing inventory issues are under WI Senate Bill 180 (SB180).

Housing Affordability

According to RGD, "Wisconsin property taxes are the 8th highest in the nation", making housing affordability an issue.

Residents are spending "more than 50%" of their income on housing. The golden rule used to be no more than 30%-33% of income should be spent on housing, whether it's a mortgage or rent payment. Now, many Wisconsin residents are spending almost double that amount just to have a place to live.

In 2021, the median home price in Wisconsin was $215,000, it is now $310,000, which represents a 10% increase over the last year, and over 44% increase since 2021.

The lack of housing inventory, high mortgage rates, increased home prices and rising property taxes have negatively affected housing affordability.

How can we fix this? We need 200,000 new units to meet buyer demand.

The proposed legislation to address these matters are under WI Senate Bill 206/Assembly Bill 202 (SB206/AB202).

$525M WHEDA Loan Program

Last year, September 2024, WI Governor Evers announced the 4th and final component of the $525 Million Dollar WHEDA loan package.

The "More Like Home" loan program is a $50 Million dollar program to help repair and update older homes through grants or loans. Homeowners who live in homes that are more than 40 years old may qualify for low interest loans of $5,000 to $50,000.

Here's the breakdown of the original 2023-2025 program budget: 

• $50 million to support housing rehabilitation grants or loans
• $275 million for Residential Housing Infrastructure loans
• $100 million for Main Street Housing Rehabilitation loans
• $100 million for Commercial-to-Housing Conversion loans

Senate Bill 180 (SB180) successfully advocated for the $525 Million WHEDA loan program to invest in workforce and senior housing. It also allows commercial properties to be converted to apartment buildings under the Commercial-to-Housing loan program. To date, only $15M has been used. If the entire amount is not used by 2031, it all has to go back, according to RGD.

The current Spring 2025 application cycle is open and accepting applications until the deadline date of May 16, 2025. 

Real Estate Transfer Tax

Many years ago in the 1970s, the Wisconsin real estate transfer tax was "$1 for every $1,000 in property value", with 50% to the state and 50% to the county, according to RGD. In 1982, it increased to $3 per $1,000, with 80% to the state and 20% to the county. With increased home prices and property values, this causes additional tax burdens to homeowners and homesellers. Sellers are responsible for the transfer tax.

The proposed legislation would reduce the transfer tax by one-third, and allocate 50% to the county, 30% to the state, and 20% to the land information program supporting digital mapping infrastructure.

Proposed legislation to address this issue is under LRB2260 (Legislative Reference Bureau 2260).

Landlord/Tenant Koble Case

In the Koble v. Marquardt case, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a tenant, citing their lease was voided due to containing one or more of the "10 deadly sins" as refenced in Attorney Tristan Pettit's legal blog overview/explanation of the case. 

This case ruling set a precedent that landlords could be responsible to pay tenants "double all the rent paid under the lease", according to RGD. In essence, if a tenant lived in your property for 2 years paying $800 a month and decided to sue the landlord, a landlord could be responsible to pay them back $38,400 plus attorney fees and court costs. This could bankrupt many landlords and is not fair to property owners and landlords.

The proposed legislation to address this issue is under WI Senate Bill 206/Assembly Bill 202 (SB206/AB202).