REALTORS Association of Northeast Wisconsin

Latest News

CALL FOR ACTION: Wisconsin Has a Housing Crisis

With statewide housing inventory levels at historic lows and median home prices continuing to rise, Wisconsin has a major workforce housing shortage problem. Employers in the state are having a hard time recruiting workers to fill thousands of job openings due to an historic shortage of affordable housing options for workers.

Two of the biggest barriers to new home building in communities are the opposition from existing residents, or NIMBYs (Not in My Backyard), and the lack of financing tools for new development.

You can help remove barriers to create more housing by using the form at the link below to send a pre-written message, encouraging state lawmakers to pass legislation and fund loan programs to help fix Wisconsin’s housing shortage.

https://www.votervoice.net/WIRea.../Campaigns/105579/Respond

Great New Customer Resource Brochure

A new brochure titled, "REALTORS® Do More Than Sell Homes," was unveiled at REALTOR® and Government Day that highlights four pieces of legislation that the WRA passed to promote and protect your client's property rights and property taxes. To access the brochure, visit the WRA's downloadable consumer brochure page here and look for the REALTORS® Do More Than Sell Homes link.

Wisconsin Housing Bills Advance

May 18, 2023 was a huge day for housing in the state legislature. Both the Assembly and Senate Housing Committees heard all WRA legislative priorities relating to fixing the housing crisis. Special thank you to Wisconsin REALTORS®, Tina Bunker and Tim Roehl who joined WRA's Executive Vice President, Tom Larson in testifying before the committees to speak on the merits of the bills.

SB 296/AB 266, authored by Senator Stroebel and Representative Krug - relating to judicial review of local government decisions. This bill affectionately known as the NIMBY bill, increases certainty and predictability in the development-approval process.
SB 297/AB 267, authored by Senator Stroebel and Representative Penterman - relating to the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) program to fund low-interest loans for the rehabilitation of certain residential properties created under 2021 Wis. Act 221.
SB 293/AB 264, authored by Senator Quinn and Representative Armstrong - relating to residential infrastructure revolving loans to provide funding for streets, sewer, water, sidewalks, etc. to service new residential development.
SB 294/AB 265, authored by Senator Jagler and Representative Hurd - relating to main street rehabilitation revolving loans to help repair and rehabilitate residential rental housing above an existing building with a commercial use on the main floor.
SB 295/AB 268, authored by Senator Feyen and Representative Summerfield - relating to vacant commercial-to-housing conversion revolving loans to fund the redevelopment of vacant commercial buildings into new residential workforce housing.

Congratulations on a job well done to REALTOR® Senator Romaine Quinn who was featured on WisconsinEye Newsmakers: Make More Workforce Housing. Senator Quinn, along with fellow REALTOR® Representative Rob Brooks, have been instrumental in the bills being drafted and brought forward to the Wisconsin legislature. Watch the two-minute promo HERE.

Learn more about WRA's legislative priority to address the housing shortage HERE.

NAR New Fair Housing Training Requirement

National Association of REALTORS® new-member applicants must now complete two hours of fair housing training and existing members must complete two hours of fair housing training every three years as a condition of REALTOR® membership, including one training option that is of no cost to members.

The new requirement was approved by the association's Board of Directors at its May 11 meeting. The three-year cycle coincides with NAR's existing Code of Ethics training requirement and begins in 2025.

Courses satisfying the new NAR requirement are:

At Home With Diversity
Bias Override: Overcoming Barriers to Fair Housing

Fairhaven:

City of Appleton Summit on Homelessness - May 31st

The City of Appleton would like to invite you to join us in a Summit on Homelessness in Appleton on Wednesday, May 31st from 12:30-4:30pm at the Fox Cities Exhibition Center.

Please RSVP to breanna.mekuly@appleton.org by May 15.