(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s Assembly Republicans plan to introduce a group of bills they hope will create more affordable housing in the state through zoning, mortgage assistance, tax increment districts and more.
The bills include a requirement that accessory dwelling units are allowed to be built on land zoned residential or mixed use that already has a single-family dwelling, allows for a second mortgage up to $60,000 for qualifying low-income families in the state, allows for tax increment districts for infrastructure at affordable single-family homes and more.
The average age of first-time homebuyers in Wisconsin is 38 and the average price of a home is $340,000, which “far exceeds a price that most working families can afford,” according to Wisconsin Realtors Association President and CEO Tom Larson.
Larson added that home affordability is worse in Wisconsin than in Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa.
The ADU bill allows local municipalities to still govern the size and height of new buildings along with home close they can be to other roads and structures but mainly allows accessory dwellings.
“This legislation strikes a balance ensuring that property owners can efficiently add housing while maintaining reasonable community standards,” said Rep. Joy Goeben, R-Hobart.
Rep. Robert Brooks, R-Saukville, said the bills come after the state spent $525 million in providing housing incentives last session. Brooks chairs the Assembly Real Estate and Housing Committee.
Another $10 million in housing funds will go toward the second mortgage program, which includes 0% interest loans for up to 25% of the purchase price to help with new home down payments and closing costs with flexible terms for repayment.
The program “will sustain itself through repayments, not by adding new payments from taxpayers” according to Rep. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown.
He noted that Habitat for Humanity estimated the program could help families reduce monthly payments by $200 to $250 per month.
Rep. David Armstrong, R-Rice Lake, has pushed the TID proposal that would allow small, modestly-sized homes in developments to collect a portion of the increment on property taxes and put it toward repayment for infrastructure such as sewer and water, curb and roads.
“We’re not building those types of homes,” Armstrong said. “In my area, a starter home is $400,000. That’s not a starter home. That’s not what my workforce can afford.”
Wisconsin Builders Association Executive Director Brad Boycks said that, for every $1,000 that the cost of a home in the state drops, it becomes affordable for 1,392 more families.
