A committee member presented an analysis at the Sawyer County Finance Committee meeting showing that typical mortgage-and-escrow payments in the county substantially exceed what an average household can afford, creating a monthly affordability gap that complicates recruitment and workforce retention.

The presentation is significant because housing affordability affects the county’s ability to recruit employees and retain residents. The presenter summarized a Dane County housing study showing construction-cost and interest-rate increases between 2020 and 2024, then applied Sawyer County household-income and median-sale-price data to estimate affordability for local buyers.

Using the figures discussed in the meeting, the presenter said average sale price in Sawyer County in 2023 was $355,000 and that the county’s median household income for 2023 was $57,519 (UW-Extension data cited). The presenter applied a 7.3 percent mortgage rate (the rate used in the study) and a 10 percent down payment and calculated a monthly payment and escrow estimate totaling about $2,700. The presenter compared that payment to a 28 percent-of-gross-income housing affordability benchmark and reported a monthly affordability gap of about $1,359 for the average Sawyer County household under those assumptions.

The presenter said the down payment as a percent of household income would be about 62 percent under those assumptions and noted that only a handful of two-bedroom listings matching the affordability threshold appeared on Zillow when searched during the presentation. The presenter emphasized that the trend is not unique to Sawyer County and that rising construction costs and interest rates have outpaced income growth.

Committee members acknowledged the issue and the presenter said housing affordability will be on next month’s agenda to consider approaches for Sawyer County.