Bikers on John Nolen for Ride the Drive.
City of Madison

2025 Housing Tracker Year in Review: New homes surpass annual average, focus on affordability

posted 
Rear view of new townhomes built on Theresa Terrace on Madison's west side

The City of Madison’s Housing Tracker shows steady progress toward the goal of adding 15,000 new homes of all types by 2030, with its latest update providing preliminary year-end totals for 2025.

In total, the City of Madison saw 2,328 net new homes created and permitted for occupancy in 2025, with 2,503 new homes built and 175 homes demolished. This total includes housing of all types, from single-family homes to apartment homes.

Of the homes added to Madison's housing market in 2025:

  • 398 (17%) are homes being offered at affordable rates below market value for those making up to 60% of the Area Median Income ($54,540 for one person, $70,140 for a household of three people)
  • 59 are homes being offered at affordable rates for those making up to 30% of the Area Median Income ($27,270 for one person, $35,070 for a household of three people)
  • 188 are detached single homes

The Housing Tracker noted an additional 5,320 homes under construction (meaning projects had been issued building permits but were not yet complete) across the City at the end of 2025. As with the total Net Homes Completed metric, this includes housing of all types. Once those homes are completed in the coming years, the city will be more than halfway to accomplishing its 15,000-home goal.

These numbers show me that our efforts to create more homes in Madison are starting to pay off. I’m also very encouraged that we are seeing an increasing percentage of affordable homes, and a high number of homes under construction. These are positive signs that I hope to see continue in 2026. Whether it's improving our policies, creating incentives, or just building it ourselves, we are using all our tools to keep pace with growth and keep Madison affordable.

—

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway

  • 2,328 Total New Homes
  • 398 Affordable Below Market Rate
  • 188 Detached Single Homes

How does 2025 compare to recent years?

In terms of the production of net new homes, 2025’s total of 2,328 was less than 2024’s total of 2,747 (which was the most homes created in a single year since 2019), but surpassed 2023’s total of 2,267. The third page of the Housing Tracker provides a view of how 2025 compares to the previous decade, dating back to 2015.

Bar graph showing 2,328 net new homes in Madison in 2025, compared to previous years

Year

Homes Completed

Homes Demolished

Net Total

2015

1,558

55

1,503

2016

1,816

25

1,791

2017

2,232

15

2,217

2018

1,525

315

1,210

2019

3,486

45

3,441

2020

1,598

45

1,553

2021

2,095

96

1,999

2022

2,817

121

2,696

2023

2,305

38

2,267

2024

3,040

293

2,747

2025

2,503

175

2,328

Totals

24,975

1,223 

23,752

The number of homes completed in 2025 is in line with recent trends, but a higher percentage of the homes finished in the past year have some level of long-term affordability compared to recent years as the City has increased efforts to support the creation of more homes for Madisonians with lower incomes.

Category

2025

2015-2024 Annual Average

Difference

Net New Homes

2,328

2,142

+186

New homes with long-term affordability (for up to 60% AMI)

398

240

+158

New homes with long-term affordability (for up to 30% AMI)

59

42 

+17

The Community Development Division announced in December four housing developments totaling 422 new homes, 263 of which will offer permanent below-market affordability, will receive support from the City of Madison’s Affordable Housing Fund as a result of the 2025 competitive award process. Those homes are not currently represented in these totals, but barring unforeseen circumstances, they will be included once they receive building permits and move forward in the near future.

About the Housing Tracker

The Department of Planning, Community & Economic Development launched the Housing Tracker in early 2025 to follow the city’s progress toward Mayor Rhodes-Conway's goal of seeing 15,000 new homes completed over the next five years, with a quarter of those (3,750) offering long-term affordability to those with lower incomes. These goals were created to be in line with the recommendations laid out for Madison in Dane County’s 2024-2028 Regional Housing Strategy.

The Housing Tracker is updated monthly and collects data from several sources within the Department of Planning, Community & Economic Development. The end result is a single dashboard, including interactive maps that allow residents to see where in Madison housing is being built. The dashboard was built internally by City staff using existing City data.

Housing Tracker Definitions

For the purposes of the Housing Tracker, a home is considered “under construction” once a building permit is issued by the Building Inspection Division. A home is considered “completed” once a Certificate of Occupancy has been issued by the Building Inspection Division.

The Housing Tracker’s definition of “affordable housing” is housing that is subsidized and available only to renter households with income no greater than 60% of the Area Median Income or homeowner households with income no greater than 80% of the Area Median Income. In 2025, the Area Median Income for Dane County as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was $90,900 for a one-person household, or $116,900 for a household of three people.

While what is considered “affordable” housing is different for many people, we use this definition because it uses the same figures that determine eligibility for a number of housing assistance programs.

Additional Housing Reports

City staff are currently working on an updated Housing Snapshot report, which provides a more comprehensive analysis of Madison’s housing market. The Housing Snapshot summarizes a number of different metrics and factors, including city growth trends, housing construction trends, housing supply vs. demand, housing cost burden, and more. The Department of Planning, Community & Economic Development expects this report to be completed and shared publicly in the first part of 2026.

More Information and Resources

Departments:
Was this page helpful to you? * required