Cost of Rent in Wisconsin May be Normalizing

Wednesday, December 7th, 2022 -- 9:00 AM

(By Joe Schulz, Wisconsin Public Radio) The cost of rent in Wisconsin may be normalizing after a pandemic-induced spike, even as evictions return to pre-pandemic levels.

According to Joe Schulz with Wisconsin Public Radio, a study by the website Rent. found that Wisconsin was one of four states to see rents decline in October compared to last year. But data from Princeton University's Eviction Lab shows that evictions in the state are close to pre-pandemic levels.

According to the November Rent Report, Wisconsin’s median rent in October was $1,405, which is a roughly 1.9 percent decrease from last October and a roughly 0.3 percent decrease from September.

Brian Carberry, the managing editor for Rent., said rent costs are beginning to normalize following a spike over the last year.  "The past year, prices were really high because, for two years, they stayed flat," he said.

"They shot up to kind of get back to correct itself, and now they're beginning to come back down." Seasonal demand for rent may also play a factor in October’s decrease in rent costs, Carberry noted.

"As we get into fall (and) as we get into winter, prices tend to flatten or go down a little bit before they'll go up again, as we get into late spring and summer of next year," he said. The dip in rent prices may not last, though. Experts say rising interest rates could cause rents to spike.

David Clark, an economic analyst for the Wisconsin Realtors Association and a Marquette University economics professor, said last month that rising interest rates will slow demand for home buying, but not for rent.

"If you have a shortage in the existing home market, that will move people who form households into rental housing," he said. "That's going to increase demand for rental housing, which will then put upward pressure on those prices."

At the same time, evictions in Wisconsin have been in the spotlight after someone spray painted a Janesville home, announcing that its resident "owes $6,000 in back rent." The renter in question is disabled and lives on $900-per-month Social Security, while her rent was $600 per month.

Jacob Haas, a research specialist for the Eviction Lab, said evictions went down during the height of the pandemic, but have risen as assistance programs have ended.

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