Anyone with eyes has noticed Madison’s apartment-building bonanza. The City’s 2025 Housing Snapshot shows that in 2024, 3,040 housing units were completed, the second-highest number in the past decade. That year also saw the largest proportion of new units in buildings with 100 or more units. As a sign that things are moving in the right direction, the new estimated vacancy rate is 4.8%. A “healthy” vacancy rate is 5% to 7%, so we’re not there yet, but we’re getting close. And we may get there sooner rather than later—vacancy rates do not include new buildings until at least 90% of their units are leased out. Once some of the newly-completed multi-family buildings are included, we’ll have a better idea what the vacancy rate truly looks like.
While vacancies in the rental market have grown, the vacancy rate in the homeownership market is only 0.6%, and has been since 2021. All the ownership data in the Housing Snapshot paints a picture of an extremely tight market for homeownership: homes average 42 days on the market; buyers on average make offers higher than the listed price; and, with no new listings, all homes listed would be closed within two months.
And those are the obstacles for people who can afford a house in Madison. With an average price of $418,000, most people who want to buy houses are priced out. That also means owners of affordable homes who may want to sell, are not going to. Where would they go? Madison’s overpriced, oversaturated rental market?…