GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – An announcement from the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority has local officials excited about the potential real estate opportunities near downtown Green Bay.
The new initiative from WHEDA is called “HomeStyle Renovation” and it includes a statewide mortgage that can help finance home purchase and renovation costs.
The intended purpose of financing with the WHEDA 30-year fixed mortgage is to allow Wisconsin residents to buy an affordable home and update it to their needs.
Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt talked about the initiative while gathered with other local and state officials at Tank Park, near Broadway Street, in Green Bay on Monday morning.
“This will be the hottest real estate market in Green Bay, where we’re standing right now,” says Mayor Schmitt.
A major component of the neighborhoods overall appeal is the proximity to downtown and Mayor Schmitt explained that, among other things, is what millennials and young families value in a property.
“To be able to walk [or] bike to where you’re employed,” Mayor Schmitt says. “Take advantage of some of the opportunities in the city, with farmer’s market’s and some of the other activities that we provide here.”
One of the deterrents to moving into the housing surrounding downtown is the age of the home and some necessary renovations that younger couples or families simply can’t afford.
The hope is that the “HomeStyle Renovation” initiative will alleviate some of those financial burdens and allow homeowners to make the upgrades they require.
Jared Tetzner, a realtor with Keller Williams Green Bay, notes that he lives nearby Tank Park and agrees there are renovations needed to many homes.
“A lot of the homes in our area were obviously built at the turn of the century, the early 1900s,” says Tetzner. “A lot of these homes are going to need insulation.”
Some other necessary renovations include window replacement and even more expensive undertakings.
“Foundations are a huge issue in this neighborhood,” explains Tetzner. “Foundations can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000 to fix.”
And for millennial home buyers, often times that type of undertaking is simply a dream.
“They just have enough for the down payment and a lot of times they’re emptying out their retirement savings just to buy a house,” says Tetzner. “So forget about renovations, they simply don’t have the money to do it.”
So what should the “HomeStyle Renovation” mean for the area?
“The biggest benefit is having non-investors buy these homes and turning them back to what they need to be,” says Tetzner. “Renters, let’s be honest, they’re not going to take care of a neighborhood and watch over it as a homeowner would.”
Additional information on the initiative, program and property restrictions and eligibility restrictions can be found here.
