Gorman selling dozens of single-family rental homes in Milwaukee to tenants
BizTimes | MILWAUKEE
Working with Acts Housing, developer has plans to sell more than 70 homes to first-time homebuyers over the next two to three years, and more than 200 over the next dozen years.
As the Community Development Alliance works to wrest thousands of homes from the hands of predatory investors in Milwaukee, one Wisconsin developer is taking steps to sell dozens of its single-family home rental properties to its tenants. While most people think of Gorman & Company for its headline-grabbing mixed-use apartment complexes, the Madison area-based developer
Housing options in Beloit aren’t keeping up with economic growth, leaving some in a pinch
Channel 3000 | BELOIT
Economic development in Beloit has outpaced residential growth, creating a housing crisis and leaving residents in an inaccessible market.
According to a 2022 report by the Greater Beloit Economic Development Corporation, employment growth in Beloit in the past decade measured at 10.5%. The population, however, has remained stagnant.
“We’ve not produced enough units to keep up with all the jobs that have been created here,” said Drew Pennington, Beloit’s economic development director.
Greater Milwaukee Urban League and partners celebrate first-time homeowners
CBS 58 | MILWAUKEE
Thanks to a hometown nonprofit, two Milwaukee families are now proud homeowners.
On Tuesday, the Greater Milwaukee Urban League, in partnership with area businesses, announced two Milwaukee families have closed on their new homes.
It’s all a part of a program which started 15 years ago celebrating affordable homeownership.
Leaders with the Urban League say this program is key to revitalizing Black and brown communities.
Wisconsin homebuyer’s guide: What you need to know about getting a broker, mortgage and financial assistance
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | MILWAUKEE
Navigating the real estate market as a first-time home buyer can be overwhelming. When’s the right time to buy? How do you get a lender? What Milwaukee neighborhood is right for you?
High demand and dwindling listings have caused home prices to increase by 9% in Metro Milwaukee in 2022. But even with limited options in a tight market, homeownership could still be an option for you.
Beloit family keeps promise to buy house with help from Acts program
Beloit Daily News | BELOIT
When Sean Chisholm promised to buy his wife a home in 1998, he meant it, but he had serious doubts whether he could realistically deliver. That promise always felt more like a distant dream than an achievable goal that was within his family’s reach.
This mindset changed when he and his wife, Veronica, linked up with Acts Housing, a non-profit agency in Beloit that assists residents during the home buying process by offering homebuyer and financial counseling, as well as home rehab coaching.
The Chisholms first heard about Acts Housing through a friend who worked with the non-profit and suggested they could benefit from the program. Sean and Veronica looked into it and despite initial hesitation, decided to move forward with the hopes of achieving their dream.
Northwestern Mutual commits $3 million to reduce inequity in homeownership
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | MILWAUKEE
Home ownership has become one of the most consistent ways for people and families to build wealth.
But in Milwaukee the inability of would-be homebuyers to find an affordable home to buy is one of the reasons for the city’s persistent racial wealth gap.
Northwestern Mutual is trying to help address this issue by investing $3 million through its foundation and its Sustained Action for Racial Equity initiative in a pair of city housing agencies.
“We think homeownership can really provide that basis for economic stability for individuals and families going forward,” said Grady Crosby, vice president and chief sustainability and impact officer at Northwestern Mutual. “Not to mention the intrinsic value around the pride of homeownership, some skin in the game, a stake in the neighborhood. But also building transferable generational wealth.”
York builds home-buying capacity for Acts Housing
Milwaukee Business Journal | MILWAUKEE
As vice president of real estate for Acts Housing, Dorothy York oversees a new $11 million acquisition fund that aims to buy 100 Milwaukee houses annually and sell them to eligible families who previously faced barriers to homeownership.
Dorothy York…”I personally like the hunt. I like to chase down the deals, find the opportunities. That negotiation, that’s what excites me.”
Crowley Signs Proposal to Fund Housing Project
Urban Milwaukee | MILWAUKEE
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley signed legislation Monday that invests $2.5 million into a new housing fund created to take on predatory housing investors.
In August last year, ACTS Housing, a local nonprofit, announced it was creating a new housing acquisition fund to get in front of out-of-state investors buying up single-family housing stock in Milwaukee. The plan is to purchase homes that would otherwise go to these investors and sell them to owner-occupants. The project has an initial fundraising goal of $11 million.
The project is an idea that came out of the Community Development Alliance (CDA) Collective Affordable Housing Plan, which also identified the need for 32,000 new Black and Latino homeowners in Milwaukee in order to close the racial housing gap.
Teig Whaley-Smith, the CEO of CDA, said that major institutions interested in tackling problems like homeownership don’t always have the resources to research and develop a new system. “So we just keep doing the same things over and over again.”