Metropolitan Builders Association: New home buyers facing acute available lot shortage

WAUKESHA, Wis. (August 3, 2022) – People who want to build their new dream homes throughout the state of Wisconsin including the Milwaukee metropolitan area are now facing a new obstacle that is stretching the home building industry: an acute shortage of available lots. As seen in the graphic below, the number of available lots dropped from 13,601 in 1994 to a mere 2,491 this year.

“Over the last 20+ years we have seen a drastic change in the number of new lots created for the housing market.” Said Toby Van Sistine, Director of Government Affairs for the Metropolitan Builders Association of Greater Milwaukee. “Even after the 2008 housing downturn, the development side of new homes construction never really recovered.”...

   ...more

Ken Notes: Communities need to strongly consider partnering with the development community, buying land, developing infrastructure and then making land/lots available to builders. The community can then control the type of housing and supporting development they need. Think Industrial Park for workforce housing. We could even request TIF rules to support this type of investment.