Packers housing market near Lambeau slows down after big prices spurred hopes for a boom

GREEN BAY – The housing market around Lambeau Field didn't prove to be the gold mine that many property owners hoped it would. 

In March, we wrote about the increasing number of potential "Packers houses" available near the stadium as owners tried to snag a limited number of available buyers or renters who'd pay the rising asking prices. Of the 13 houses we included in our story, none sold over the summer. Listed prices ranged from $280,000 to $800,000. The asking price was reduced on seven and five are off the market.

"We had it listed high, hoping to cash out," said Carrie Bardwell, who wanted to sell her house on Thorndale Street. She and husband Jason had their eye on another house.

They didn't get an offer they liked and decided to stay, taking their house off the market.

"We were targeting the cash buyer who wanted to be in the neighborhood for fun. It's a very specialized buyer," she said. 

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Those target buyers are investors who would buy the homes, remodel them and use them as rentals for Green Bay Packers games or other special events, or for their own game-day fun.

That has happened to properties on the south side of Shadow Lane between South Oneida and Frank streets in Green Bay, and along Stadium Drive in Ashwaubenon, spurring a belief, or at least a hope, among nearby property owners that the market for such properties was growing.

Alhough that didn't pan out, it doesn't mean hope is dead.

Nine additional properties within two blocks of Lambeau Field are up for sale, including 910 Stadium Drive, which has an asking price of $779,900. Unlike most of the others, that property already is a Packers game-day house.

One other property, at 2069 S. Ridge Road, was purchased in March for $389,900. The one-story ranch was demolished and is being replaced by a two-story structure.

"I think a lot of homeowners put up a make-me-sell price — 'If I could get X, of course I’d sell,' but they are not really motivated in the sense they need to or want to sell the properties," said Bill Symes of Symes Realty, in Suamico.

Property owners' make-me-sell price is now a bit less than it was in spring. Reductions in prices among six of the seven March listings still for sale ranged from $10,000 to $50,000.

"I think the properties are just a little bit overvalued at this point," said Steven Arendt of Meacham Realty Inc. in Howard. "Most of the people are willing to wait, so they really don’t have to sell. They don’t want to leave money on the table."

Arendt said his firm gets inquiries, but not a lot of firm offers.

It may not help that the Packers are experiencing their second consecutive less-than-inspiring season. The team finished 7-9 in 2017 and are 4-5-1 this year after Thursday's 27-24 loss in Seattle.

"I don't think the Packers' season thus far has helped by any means," Symes said. 

Also, the Packers' jump into in the housing game could be deflating demand for existing homes.

On Oct. 3 the team announced it will build 70 to 90 townhouses and 150 apartments in the Titletown District west of the stadium. While those properties will be designed for permanent residents and are not to be used as party houses, the project still could cause buyers to wait and see.

"I think it definitely has people pausing a little bit," Symes said.  

Meanwhile, the market for Packers houses for the first time has drifted east of Oneida Street, with 1135 Shadow Lane receiving a notable upgrade and 1081 Shadow Lane offered for 299,000.