WISCONSIN — Home prices in Wisconsin have significantly outpaced incomes in the state, according to a recent Wisconsin Policy Forum report.
What You Need To Know
- In just five years, from 2017 to 2022, the median sales price of a Wisconsin home increased by more than 50% while the state’s median household income only rose nearly 20%
- That price-to-income ratio was also at its highest point since 2007
- Dane (4.6), Door (5.5), Vilas (5.3), Sawyer (5.1) and Burnett (4.5) counties all had high ratios
- Wisconsin Policy Forum officials said that depending on the area, the primary drivers of this were an expensive housing market or generally low incomes
In just five years, from 2017 to 2022, the median sales price of a Wisconsin home increased by more than 50% while the state’s median household income only rose nearly 20%.
That price-to-income ratio was also at its highest point since 2007, officials said. During 2007, the median price of a home sold in Wisconsin was 3.3 times the median household income. When the Great Recession happened, that ratio dropped but has steadily risen over the years; in 2022, that ratio sat at 3.7.
This is far higher than the recommended rule by real estate agents that says, “homebuyers can afford to spend roughly 2.6 times their household income on a home.”
Some areas in the state have an even higher ratio. Dane County, for example, which is the state’s second most populous county, had a ratio of 4.6. Four other counties saw notable higher ratios, including Door (5.5), Vilas (5.3), Sawyer (5.1) and Burnett (4.5).
Another county of note was Menominee County, which had the highest price-to-income ratio in 2022 of 7.6. However, officials said this ratio should be interpreted with caution because the county only sold 31 homes that year compared to the 400 sold in the other five higher ratio regions.
Wisconsin Policy Forum officials said that depending on the area, the primary drivers of this were an expensive housing market or generally low incomes. For example, in Dane County, the median household income exceeded the statewide median of $70,996, meaning the housing market was to blame for a higher ratio. On the flip side, in Barron County, median sale prices were below the statewide median of $265,000, but median incomes were below $60,000.
They said the recent data raises concerns about homeownership becoming less accessible, especially for certain populations. Black households in 2022 saw a particularly high price-to-income ratio of 6.8. American Indian and Hispanic households also saw ratios that were above 4.
Officials said rising costs partially come from a limited housing supply. There are two reasons for that: slowing housing development and fewer homeowners willing to sell.
From 1994 to 2005, at least 30,000 homes were permitted, according to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data. That dropped drastically to less than 10,000 in 2011. It has rebounded in the years following, but still only sat at a little more than 20,000 in 2022.
Officials said homeowners were also most likely reluctant to sell as mortgage rates and interest rates rose.
Both factors come as demand for housing has grown. In the last decade or so, households in Wisconsin increased by more than 211,000, yet less than 145,000 housing units have been permitted — leaving a deficit of nearly 67,000 units.
Wisconsin Policy Forum said this will probably have implications for young aspiring homebuyers, “who may be denied some or all of the long-term benefits of owning a home, including the opportunity to build equity.”
CARROLLWOOD, Fla. — A Hillsborough County nonprofit that helps families get back on their feet is turning to the community, as they need help of their own.
What You Need To Know
- New Life Warehouse delivers donated furniture to foster families, people transitioning out of homelessness, refugee families and more
- The nonprofit has been sharing space with Grace Family Church in Carrollwood at no cost
- The church sold a portion of its property, and the new owners are taking over the warehouse space
- New Life is now in need of a new space to operate out of
Stephanie Haile is passionate about helping people who are starting over. She started New Life Warehouse in 2020 — a nonprofit that collects furniture donations to give to people in need who are moving into new homes. Those helped include kids in foster care, people overcoming homelessness or even refugees from countries like Ukraine.
“People always think about them getting a place to live, but they don’t always think about what happens after that,” Haile said. “When they walk in to their new place, they’re really excited, but then they realize they have nothing in it.
“These are people really, right now in Tampa, laying on the floor, sitting on the floor, eating on the floor and that’s a problem.”
Over the past four years, Haile said New Life Warehouse has been able to help about 2,000 families. She said the need right now is huge, especially with the rising cost of rent.
“A lot of times, these moms want to go ahead and get their kids these beds and that’s great,” Haile said. “But then when it’s time to pay rent again, they’re back in the negative in their checking account and they can’t pay their rent.”
New Life Warehouse is now looking for a fresh start itself. The nonprofit currently shares space with Grace Family Church in Carrollwood at no cost. But the church sold a portion of its property and the new owners are taking over the warehouse — leaving New Life no choice but to move out.
“We use all of our money to buy beds and the items that we give to families,” Haile said. “We have a very low overhead because we’re all volunteers. Whenever we have that extra money, we buy the things that families need.”
Haile is now looking for 10,000 square-foot warehouse space so she and her volunteers can keep doing their work. While the future is uncertain, Haile said she is holding on to her faith and staying hopeful.
“We’ve seen all the amazing things that have already happened,” she said. “We’ve seen God work — we’ve physically seen these things happen that we just know that it’s going to work out.”
New Life Warehouse officially has until May 3 to vacate their current space. Haile said they plan to start the move-out process in April and she hopes to have a new location by then.
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. – Shelters across the country have dealt with an increase in pets surrendered after the pandemic, and with the overflow, the importance of foster parents for animals has grown.
What You Need To Know
- Foster parents have become important to helping animals find new homes
- Marisa Burntitus is an animal foster parent in Berkshire County
- There’s a process people have to go through before being approved to be able to foster dogs
- Burntitus plans to keep finding homes to as many dogs as she can
Marisa Burntitus is fosters dogs in Berkshire County, making sure dogs can get a new life. Kerey, her current foster, came from Perfect Pets Rescue in Georgia, where they save dogs and cats from high-kill shelters in the South and transfer them to their fosters based in New York.
“They rescue them and they ship them up here to us, and I pick them up out in Kingston, and then I essentially give them a home rather than living in a pound until they find their forever home,” Burntitus said.
Burntitus takes care of dogs like Kerey, making sure they have what’s needed to keep them healthy and safe until adopted. She has fostered four dogs in the past two months.
There’s a process Burntitus had to go through before being able to foster dogs.
“To be a foster it’s like adopting a dog,” she said. “You’ll fill out an application, they check your vet references and your personal references, just to make sure you’ll be a good home for the dog , and then you’re approved. And we are all in a Facebook group together, we chat about the dogs, figure out transports, pickups, things like that, and it’s really a great community of support and of dog lovers, of people who just want to help basically.”
Burntitus said Kerey is great with people and cats, and is ready to find his new family.
“He is very loyal, very loving, he loves to snuggle,” she said. “He did great on a walk yesterday, he does well on his leash. He’s definitely doing great with potty training and learning to go outside and he loves hanging out with us at night. He’ll lay on the couch with us, he’ll kinda snuggle and hang out.”
Burntitus plans to keep finding homes to as many dogs as she can.
The need for foster homes for dog’s is always there, and anyone interested in signing up to volunteer or wanting to adopt a pet can check out Perfect Pets Rescue for more information.
Higher rents and food prices boosted overall U.S. inflation in December, a sign that the Federal Reserve’s drive to slow inflation to its 2% target will likely remain a bumpy one.
What You Need To Know
- Higher rents and food prices boosted overall U.S. inflation in December, a sign that the Federal Reserve’s drive to slow inflation to its 2% target will likely remain a bumpy one
- Overall prices rose 0.3% from November and 3.4% from 12 months earlier
- Those gains exceeded the previous 0.1% monthly rise and the 3.1% annual inflation in November
- Excluding volatile food and energy costs, though, so-called core prices rose just 0.3% month over month, unchanged from November’s increase
Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that overall prices rose 0.3% from November and 3.4% from 12 months earlier. Those gains exceeded the previous 0.1% monthly rise and the 3.1% annual inflation in November.
Excluding volatile food and energy costs, though, so-called core prices rose just 0.3% month over month, unchanged from November’s increase. Core prices were up 3.9% from a year earlier, down a tick from November’s 4% year-over year gain. Economists pay particular attention to core prices because, by excluding costs that typically jump around from month to month, they are seen as a better guide to the likely path of inflation.
Overall inflation has cooled more or less steadily since hitting a four-decade high of 9.1% in mid-2022. Still, the persistence of still-elevated inflation helps explain why, despite steady economic growth, low unemployment and healthy hiring, polls show many Americans are dissatisfied with the economy — a likely key issue in the 2024 elections.
In a statement, President Joe Biden praised the positives from Thursday’s report while acknowledging that there is more work to be done when it comes to lowering consumer prices across the board.
“Today’s report shows that we ended 2023 with inflation down nearly two-thirds from its peak and core inflation at its lowest level since May 2021,” the president said. “We saw prices go down over the course of the year for goods and services that are important for American households like a gallon of gas, a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, toys, appliances, car rentals, and airline fares.”
“Despite what many forecasters were predicting a year ago, inflation is down while growth and the job market have remained strong,” he hailed. “The economy has created more than 14 million jobs since I took office, and wealth, wages, and employment are higher now than under my predecessor.”
“But there is much more work to do to lower costs for American families and American workers,” Biden admitted. “That’s why I’m taking action to bring down the price of insulin, prescription drugs, and energy, eliminating hidden junk fees companies use to rip you off, and calling on large corporations to pass on savings to consumers as their costs moderate.”
The Federal Reserve, which began aggressively raising interest rates in March 2022 to try to slow the pace of price increases, wants to reduce year-over-year inflation to its 2% target level.
Overall, the progress against inflation has been significant. A year ago, the 12-month rise in the consumer price index was 6.5% — way down from a four-decade high of 9.1% in June 2022 but still painfully high. And wage gains have outpaced inflation in recent months, meaning that Americans’ average after-inflation take-home pay is up.
There are solid reasons for optimism that inflationary pressure will continue to recede in the coming months.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported this week, for example, that consumers now expect inflation to come in at just 3% over the next year, the lowest one-year forecast since January 2021. That’s important because consumer expectations are themselves considered a telltale sign of future inflation: When Americans fear that prices will keep accelerating, they will typically rush to buy things sooner rather than later. That surge of spending tends to fuel more inflation.
But that nasty cycle does not appear to be happening.
And when Fed officials discussed the inflation outlook at their most recent meeting last month, they noted some hopeful signs: An end to the supply chain backlogs that had caused parts shortages and inflation pressures and a drop in rent costs, which is beginning to spread through the economy.
Many economists have suggested that slowing inflation from 9% to around 3% was easier to achieve than reaching the Fed’s 2% target could prove to be.
The December U.S. jobs report that was issued last week contained some cautionary news for the Fed: Average hourly wages rose 4.1% from a year earlier, up slightly from 4% in November. And 676,000 people left the workforce, reducing the proportion of adults who either have a job or are looking for one to 62.5%, the lowest level since February.
That is potentially concerning because when fewer people look for work, employers usually find it harder to fill jobs. As a result, they may feel compelled to sharply raise pay to attract job-seekers — and then pass on their higher labor costs to their customers through higher prices. That’s a cycle that can perpetuate inflation.