While U.S. housing development slumps, Green Bay sees major growth

GREEN BAY – While cities across the U.S. have seen a decrease in housing development since 2022, Green Bay has not only maintained a steady rate of development, but even increased.

In 2024, 1,825 new housing units were authorized compared to only 1,249 in 2022 — an increase of 46.1% in two years.

At the same time, the country has seen a decrease of 12.0%, according to an analysis by Construction Coverage.

“We are definitely proud of every project we can help make happen in our community,” said Green Bay Neighborhood Development Specialist William Peters.

He noted that though Green Bay has grown a lot, meeting the housing needs of Green Bay is an ongoing process.

“Growth is important and we want to make sure that we are meeting the housing demand the best we can,” he said.

“We are doing our best at the city to make efficiencies in our… processes to reduce the amount of wait time for issuing building permits so that developers can get in the ground sooner.”

In addition to these developments, Peters noted, “it’s less expensive to develop here in the Midwest than is in other parts of the United States.”

Green Bay’s work is not done yet.

“I think the biggest concern that we have been shared by many is affordability. The housing market and the cost to get into what would be a single family house… has increased dramatically over the years and it’s becoming more out of reach for people to become homeowners,” said Peters. “One thing we’re seeing in the community is a lack of starter homes for first-time home buyers. That just doesn’t exist anymore right now as it did in the past. Many of the homes listed on the market are just out of reach financially.”

Because of this, “we’re seeing the average age of home owners increase than previously. And just the cost to rent has gone up and that’s a challenge. And it’s pushing more and more people who maybe in the past weren’t in vulnerable positions… closer to the edge there when it comes to what they’re paying for housing costs. We’re seeing more households in the area pay more than 30% and sometimes even more than 50% of their annual income and that’s concerning.”

In order to address these challenges, “We also have some funding resources available at the city, specifically for the development of affordable housing that can help… reduce the cost of construction for affordable housing developments in the city,” Peters said.

Why has the market steadily inflated?

Peters said, “I think it’s something that if we had the answer to, we’d go in and solve it. But I think a lot of it has to do with the market right now and the asking rents, the increased costs to build and to develop. Whether that’s the cost of materials, labor and the operating costs, insurance costs have gone up a bit… which is throwing a wrench in the budgets of many developers right now. I would say that the reasons why are multi-faceted.”

Looking to the future, Peters hopes to see community land trusts introduced to the community “which will be another resource, another option for home buyers. When a house is put into a community land trust, the cost of that house to the potential buyer is affordable and it remains affordable in perpetuity, meaning that regardless of how much the market changes, the cost to get into that house in a land trust will remain the same over the years, making it permanently affordable.”

Whichever route Green Bay takes next, Peters acknowledged that, “It’s a long journey. It’s one that we’ve been on since there’s been a need for housing and it’s part of our job to make sure as a city, we’re meeting the housing needs in our community. And it’s certainly a challenge, we’re not perfect at it, but we certainly do our best to make it happen.”