Not Enough: Wisconsin’s Housing Outlook

A report released by Forward Analytics, Not Enough: Wisconsin’s Housing Outlook, finds that Wisconsin needs to build fewer homes than expected due to changing demographic patterns, a decline from 2023 estimates.

The study updates the previously assumed 140,000 projected units to be built from 2020 to 2030, revising the estimate to around 84,000 units based on updated Department of Administration (DOA) population projections. Unit permits in Wisconsin are keeping pace.

Since 2020, Wisconsin has issued 74,692 single-unit permits, averaging about 12,449 per year. This has already met the predictions for the status quo estimate. But constructing only enough housing to meet a shrinking workforce does not position Wisconsin to grow, attract talent, or remain economically competitive over the next decade and beyond.

“Wisconsin’s demographics are shifting rapidly, and our housing policy needs to keep pace,” said Jacob Anderson, research analyst at Forward Analytics. “If Wisconsin wants to retain and attract residents, it cannot accept the status quo and must increase permitting supply to give itself the chance to retain younger residents who are being priced out of the market, as well as attract new residents.”

Read the full Spotlight, Not Enough: Wisconsin’s Housing Outlook, here.