A lower cost of living and a decrease in the area’s unemployment rate means more people are looking for apartments in the Green Bay and Fox Valley regions of Wisconsin, according to the latest research from Marcus & Millichap.
In its third-quarter multifamily report, Marcus & Millichap predicted that an estimated 20,000 households will be created in the Fox Valley and Green Bay regions during the next five years. At the same time, the strong presence of the University of Wisconsin system – offering campuses in Green Bay, Menasha, Oshkosh and Fond du Lac – supplies this area with a steady influx of traditional renters.
This combination is increasing demand for rentals. That, in turn, is spurring developers, who are also attracted to land and construction costs that are well below the costs in other Midwest markets.
Marcus & Millichap predicts that about 1,200 new apartment units will have been added to the Green Bay and Fox Valley region by the time this year ends. If that holds, it will be the greatest single-year increase in rental units here during the current cycle.
The increase in supply will result in a small increase in vacancy. Marcus & Millichap predicts that the apartment vacancy rate here will rise 80 basis points, hitting 4 percent by the end of the year. Rents, though, are expected to increase. Marcus & Millichap says that the average effective rent in the area will jump 2.9 percent to $735 a month by the time 2018 ends.
