Regional Housing News - May 2026

IN THE NEWS

Please Join Us!

2026 Regional Housing Summit- Shaping the Future of Housing!

Tuesday, June 30, 2026, 6:00-8:30 PM

What is the Dane County Regional Housing Strategy (RHS)?

Housing Crisis 101— Solutions and Resources

Dane County CDBG-HOME & WHEDA Applications Now Open!

Volunteer Opportunity: Make Homeownership Possible!

Conferences, Events & In the News...

2026 Regional Housing Strategy Summit

Shaping the Future of Housing!

Please Join Us! Tuesday, June 30, 2026, 6:00-8:30 PM

Alliant Energy Center, Lake Rooms (2nd Floor)

Join us on Tuesday, June 30, 2026 from 6:00-8:30 PM at the 2nd 
Annual Regional Housing Summit— Shaping Housing for the Future

After opening remarks by Dane County Executive Melissa Agard, you’ll hear two panel presentations. Elected officials will discuss the challenges they face, key opportunities to address the housing crisis and what we can do to expand the dialogue and improve outcomes. Single family affordable housing developers and housing experts will discuss obstacles to development, and critical steps to rebuilding the ladder into homeownership!

RHS Summit Agenda

5:30 pm - Doors Open

6:00 pm Opening remarks - Melissa Agard, Dane County Executive

6:05 pm - Panel Presentation— Making the Hard Decisions: Elected Officials Discuss the Challenges, Lessons Learned, and Opportunities to Address the Housing Crisis

Panel Moderator: Rebecca Giroux, Community and Economic Development Officer, WHEDA

• Ryan Czyzewski, President, Village of Mount Horeb
• Chris Stoa, Trustee, Village of Cottage Grove
• Satya Rhodes-Conway, Mayor, City of Madison
• Tim Higgins, Trustee, Village of Oregon
• Julia Arata-Fratta, Mayor, City of Fitchburg

7:05 pm - Ice Cream Break

7:15 pm - RHS Annual Progress Report and Housing Trends - Olivia Parry, Dane County Planning and Development; Casey Becker, Dane County Housing Access and Affordability Division

Hometown Hero Award Presentation

7:35 pm Panel Presentation— The Ladder Into Homeownership is Broken: What’s it Going to Take to Fix it?

Panel Moderator: Todd Mandel, Executive Director, WI Partnership for Housing Development

• Kaba Bah, CEO, Kaba Baal Development 
• Becky Binz, Housing and Equitable Development Planner, City of Sun Prairie
• Mason Cavell, Executive Director, Madison Area Community Land Trust
• Aziz Housseini, CEO, Daha Sein Development
• Devon Lee, CEO, Boundless Tiny Homes

This event is free and open to the public - all are welcome! Ice cream will be served!

Come join us and share your vision for the future of housing! 

What is the Dane County

Regional Housing Strategy (RHS)?

From September 2022 to August 2023, a Housing Advisory Committee (HAC) consisting of 80 local leaders, elected officials, employers housing professionals, 17 municipalities and interested residents joined together in a strategic planning process to create the Dane County Regional Housing Strategy (RHS), A Road Map to Solving Dane County's Housing Crisis. 

As part of this process, the HAC assessed current efforts underway to address housing issues, reviewed analysis defining housing needs and current trends, and identified their Vision & Core Values, Top Priorities and Strategies to address the housing crisis. 

The RHS sets an ambitious but achievable vision for housing in Dane County and a Strategic Action Plan for the next five years (2024-2028). The RHS officially kicked off in June 2024 and recognizes that housing is a regional issue, one community can’t solve alone, or in isolation. Together, with dedicated effort from our public and private sector partners across the county, we can successfully address the housing crisis in our region!

Housing Crisis 101— Solutions and Resources

Regional Housing Strategy Fact Sheet

If you are not familiar with the Regional Housing Strategy, check out some of our resources to learn about the work RHS does in Dane County!

RHS Strategic Action Plan

The RHS identifies 5 priorities, 17 strategies, and practical action items to address the housing crisis. Visit the RHS Strategic Action Plan to learn how you, your community or business can play a roll!

Housing Solutions Checklist for Dane County Cities and Villages

Evaluate your community’s housing efforts using the RHS City and Village Housing Evaluation Checklist. This guide will helps municipalities identify potential gaps and next steps for addressing the housing crisis for their residents and employers.

Affordable Housing 101 Fact Sheet

What is affordable housing, and why do we need it? Check out the Affordable Housing 101 Fact Sheet, which covers all things affordable housing— including the demand for affordable housing, and strategies to support affordable housing production. 

To explore more of the Regional Housing Strategy’s resources, including past newsletters, housing fact sheets, and our Regional Housing Network (RHN) Webinars, visit rhs.danecounty.gov.

WHEDA Spring 2026 Competitive Loans— Applications Now Open!

The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) Spring 2026 Competitive Loan Applications for the following programs are now open:

• Infrastructure Access— Allows a residential housing developer to apply for a loan to cover the costs of installing, replacing, upgrading, or improving public infrastructure related to workforce or senior housing.
• Restore Main Street— Allows an owner of rental housing to apply for a loan to cover the costs to improve housing located on the second or third floors of an existing building with commercial space on the ground level. 
• Vacancy-to-Vitality— Allows a developer to apply for a loan to help cover the cost of converting a vacant commercial building to workforce or senior housing. 

These programs help close the gap between workforce housing needs and supply across urban and rural Wisconsin, and this application cycle is modified to reflect changes made to these programs through 2025 Wisconsin Act 237. Applications close on Friday, June 19, 2026 at 5:00 PM, and Developer Procorem WorkCenter Request Forms must be submitted by Friday, June 12, 2026. Questions about these programs or the application process can be directed to home@wheda.com.

Volunteer Opportunity:

Make Homeownership Possible!

Habitat for Humanity is looking for interested individuals or groups from area businesses or communities to volunteer! It’s a great way to give back to your community, enjoy some team building and help make the dream of homeownership possible. Interested parties can volunteer on one of their building sites, and there are no skills required.

Volunteers work under supervision from a professional construction site supervisor who will assign them to appropriate tasks depending on their interest and skill level! Plenty of breaks are provided. It’s super fun and a great way to get out of the office for a few hours!

To volunteer as an individual, click here to sign up. To volunteer as a group, contact volunteer@habitatdane.org to get more details and pick a date!

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Friday, June 5th, 2026— Let’s Have Some Fun! 

Habitat for Humanity Seeks Volunteers! Help Bring the Dream of Homeownership to a First Time Homebuyer! 

Join a Women’s Work Day!

Habitat for Humanity is offering a Women’s Work Day on Friday, June 5, 2026 (8:15am-3:30pm). Not only will you have the opportunity to raise awareness for Habitat homebuilding, but you will also learn technical skills and learn more about women’s careers in the construction industry. No prior experience is necessary to participate in Women’s Work Days. To volunteer for this event, contact volunteer@habitatdane.org.

Calling All Realtors!— Fair Housing Challenge

The Wisconsin Realtors Association has launched their Fair Housing Challenge, inviting realtors to build a more inclusive, equitable, and educated real estate profession. Through the completion of three programs, realtors can learn more about the history of fair housing, as well as the ongoing challenges surrounding fair housing.

To learn more about the challenge, or the programs offered in this course and get involved, visit the Wisconsin Realtors Association website here. 

Upcoming Events

Affordable Housing Month Events

In honor of Affordable Housing Month, the City of Sun Prairie is hosting many events to bring awareness to the affordable housing crisis!

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FREE Training Seminar

Fair Housing: Do You Know the Law?

Thursday, May 21, 2026, 2:00-4:30PM

Madison Public Library, Goodman South Branch (2222 S. Park Street, Meeting Room 115, Madison)

Are you an owner or manager of Madison rental housing who is interested in learning more about Fair Housing Laws? If so, you are invited to attend the Fair Housing Center of Greater Madison’s free training seminar on Fair Housing on Thursday, May 21, 2026, 2:00-4:30 PM. At this seminar, you will learn about local, state, and federal fair housing laws, as well as topics such as:

• Advertising units in compliance with fair housing law
• Non-discriminatory negotiation with prospective tenants
• Interacting with current tenants in a fair and legal manner
• Reasonable accommodations and modifications for tenants with disabilities. 

To register for this training, click here or call (414) 278-1240.

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Paint N’ Sip Workshop for Wisconsin WAHN

Thursday, May 28, 2026, 6:00-8:00 PM

Madison Elks Lodge #410 (711 Jenifer Street, Madison)

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A Home for Everyone Conference— Register Now!

June 15, 2026, Ingleside Hotel (2810 Golf Road, Pewaukee)

Registration for A Home for Everyone 2026 Conference is now open!

This conference, hosted by the Wisconsin Collaborative for Affordable Housing, is an opportunity for housing experts across the state to connect and learn about affordable housing access in Wisconsin. This year’s conference will feature keynote speaker Brian Goldstone, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of There is No Place for Us.

Early bird pricing is available until Monday, June 15, 2026. Standard online registration closes on Monday, July 20, 2026. On-site registration is not guaranteed. Click here to register and explore hotel options. Questions about registration can be directed to ahfe@wphd.org.

Correction to April 2026 Newsletter— Legislative Update

The Regional Housing Strategy April 2026 Newsletter featured a section on Wisconsin legislation updates relating to housing. In this article, it was incorrectly noted that Wisconsin Act 175 will allow municipalities to extend a TID upon closure from one to three years. We would like to correct this statement— Wisconsin Act 175 will allow municipalities to extend a TID closure for two years. 

For more information about TID extensions for affordable housing, explore the WI Department of Revenue’s TIF Extension page.

In the News...

May 1, 2026, Channel 3000— Madison adds over 300 new homes in month of April

February 26, 2026, City of Madison— Common Council approves investments into affordable homeownership

February 11, 2026, Wisconsin Public Radio— Bill would limit rent hikes in Wisconsin mobile home parks