Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee Apartment Loans in 2026
Two FEMA disaster declarations since September 2025 and a 22.6% rise in 2025 apartment assessments shape Milwaukee apartment loans, so each request starts from the current tax bill and the building's flood zone. Our floor is $1,500,000, the leverage ceiling 80% LTV, and well-leased stabilized buildings start at 6.14%. HUD, both agencies, CMBS lenders, banks and bridge funds see each request before we name a lender, and nothing is charged to apply or process. The Milwaukee multifamily loans page handles larger complexes, Wisconsin apartment loans other Wisconsin cities, and our commercial mortgage rates page shows pricing by program. Lenders answer with written terms.
Get a Free QuoteMilwaukee Jobs Edge Past 2025 Levels as Apartment Vacancy Falls
The Milwaukee metro area held 857,500 nonfarm jobs in September 2026, BLS reports in preliminary figures without seasonal adjustment, 0.2% above September 2025, following year-over-year dips from April to August. Year over year, professional and business services gained 2.6% and construction 3.2%; trade, transportation and utilities lost 2.3%. The City's 2025 financial report puts Milwaukee's average 2025 jobless rate at about 4.5%, against 3.2% statewide.
HUD's October 2026 snapshot calls the metro apartment market balanced, with vacancy eased to 5.1% from 5.8% twelve months before; 3,750 apartments were absorbed over four quarters while 2,850 were completed, and about 3,575 rental units were under construction. Census put the city's July 2025 population at 562,407, and RentCafe shows 58% of Milwaukee households renting.
Milwaukee Rents, Headquarters Moves and Downtown Towers
For Milwaukee, Apartment List's October 2026 report lists a $1,196 median, a figure that dipped 0.1% in September but sits 2.9% higher year over year, outpacing Wisconsin (0.5%) and the nation (-0.4%). Covering every Milwaukee building of 50 or more units, RentCafe's September 30, 2026 update shows a $1,673 average rent, 3.18% over its $1,621 prior-year figure.
The City's 2025 financial report records Regal Rexnord's headquarters move downtown in 2023, Fiserv's global headquarters opening there in March 2024 and a Milwaukee Tool expansion planned for 1,210 corporate employees, while Northwestern Mutual's $500 million North Office Building renovation is expected to bring about 2,000 more employees downtown by 2030. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee counted 22,662 students in preliminary fall 2026 figures. Underwriters weigh that office and campus base against new downtown supply.
Milwaukee Apartment Loan Rates
Rates updated as of October 30, 2026
Milwaukee's citywide revaluations, held in most years, mean these figures get checked against the current assessment, FEMA flood zone and any open City orders before a lender commits.
| Loan Type | Rate* | Max LTV |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Year Fixed | 6.54% | Up to 80% |
| 7 Year Fixed | 6.57% | Up to 80% |
| 10 Year Fixed | 6.61% | Up to 80% |
- Cash-out refinances are acceptable
- Interest-only and non-recourse options
- Minimum 1.25x debt-service-coverage ratio
See Milwaukee Multifamily Rates Over $6 Million, Starting at 6.14%
Rates last updated October 30, 2026. Rates and maximum LTV shown represent our best-case pricing scenarios. Actual rates, LTV, and loan terms are subject to underwriting approval and may vary.
Old Wards, New Towers: Milwaukee's Rental Neighborhoods
RentCafe's neighborhood table, last updated September 30, 2026, shows the Historic Third Ward averaging $2,627, Walker's Point $1,988, Bay View $1,800 and Riverwest $921. An 1892 fire burned more than 440 Third Ward buildings; 333 Water, a 31-story, 333-apartment tower, was finished there in 2024. Bay View was its own village from 1879 until 1887, and The Corliss, 576 apartments affordable to a range of incomes, held its grand opening in November 2025 between the Kinnickinnic River and Bay View. Story Hill, annexed in 1925, has homes built mostly from 1909 to 1963.
We lend in these City of Milwaukee neighborhoods and in neighboring Wauwatosa (a separate city) and Shorewood (a separate village):
- Historic Third Ward
- Walker's Point
- Bay View
- East Side
- Yankee Hill
- Riverwest
- Brewers Hill
- Harambee
- Halyard Park
- Concordia
- Merrill Park
- Avenues West
- Washington Heights
- Story Hill
- Sherman Park
- Uptown
- Washington Park
Milwaukee Apartment Programs, Agency to Bridge
A third of Milwaukee's housing units predate 1940 and two new high-rises were finished in 2024, so Milwaukee apartment loans run through every program below before we pick one:
| Program | Typical rate* | Max leverage | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fannie Mae Small Loan | 6.54% | Up to 80% | Non-recourse, fixed to 30 yrs |
| Freddie Mac SBL | 6.60% | Up to 80% | $2M to $10M small balance |
| FHA / HUD | 6.74% | Up to 85% | Highest leverage, longest term |
| Bank / portfolio | 6.50% | Up to 75% | Flexible, value-add |
| Bridge | 9.00% | Up to 80% LTC | Reposition, lease-up |
We hold Milwaukee files to 1.25x debt-service coverage, using the current assessment and, until 2026 rates are set, the $20.80 net rate from 2025. Bigger buildings move to Milwaukee multifamily loans.
Rates last updated October 30, 2026. Rates and maximum LTV shown represent our best-case pricing scenarios. Actual rates, LTV, and loan terms are subject to underwriting approval and may vary.
Wisconsin Preemption, First Class City Fees, Revaluations and Floods in Milwaukee
Rents stay a market matter. Under Section 66.1015, no municipality or county may regulate rents or fees on a residential rental dwelling unit, though a city or housing authority may set terms on housing it owns or operates or by agreement with a private owner. Another subsection outlaws inclusionary zoning, so Milwaukee cannot make income-restricted units a zoning condition.
Registration written for a first class city. Section 66.0104 limits rental registration to contact details and caps the one-time fee at $10 per building, a cap that does not reach "a 1st class city," and the City's 2025 financial report calls Milwaukee Wisconsin's only one. Milwaukee Code 200-51.5 makes owners of non-owner-occupied residential and all commercial property register contact information. State law confines proactive inspections to designated districts showing blight, frequent code complaints or violations, falling values or rising rental conversions, exempts buildings under 8 years old and spaces program inspections at least 5 years apart after a clean or timely corrected result; on September 22, 2026 the Common Council adopted a proactive inspection program and designated part of Uptown as its first inspection district.
A revaluation almost every year. The City Assessor typically revalues citywide each year, as it did for 2026, though it skipped general revaluations in 2021 and 2023. The 2025 round lifted the apartment class, which the Assessor classifies as commercial property, by 22.6%. For 2026, FOX6 reported the Assessor's figures: residential values up 6.43%, commercial up 5.31%, and the downtown 4th Aldermanic District the only district to decline.
What the 2025 bill charges. The Assessor's December 8, 2025 chart puts the 2025 gross rate at $22.42 for each $1,000 of assessment. After a $1.62 state and school credit, the net rate is $20.80, down from $22.93 for 2024, so a $2,000,000 assessment means roughly $41,600 a year before per-parcel credits. Assessments stood at 99.94% of full value.
Transfer fee and foreclosure timing. Sellers owe Wisconsin's transfer fee, 30 cents on each $100 of value, under Section 77.22. Foreclosure requires a court judgment, and for anything besides an owner-occupied home of one to four units, a farm, a church or a tax-exempt charity, Section 846.103 holds the sale for six months after judgment, or three in narrower cases.
Two FEMA disaster declarations in ten months. FEMA designated Milwaukee County in DR-4892 for the August 9-12, 2025 storms, winds, flooding and mudslides, and in DR-4923, declared June 30, 2026, after storms, tornadoes and flooding from April 13 to 23, 2026. A Milwaukee building whose FEMA zone carries an A or V prefix must be insured against flood when the lender is federally supervised or federally insured or the loan has federal backing, and NFIP building coverage maxes at $500,000 for five or more units.
Financing Options in Milwaukee
Lender pools differ for a Riverwest walk-up, a lakefront tower and a Menomonee Valley warehouse, so pick the Milwaukee card that fits:
Madison, Green Bay and Kenosha buildings, along with any other Wisconsin property, belong on Wisconsin apartment loans.
Milwaukee Refinance Files and the Annual Assessment Notice
A parcel that tracked the apartment class in 2025 saw its assessment rise 22.6% while the net rate fell from $22.93 to $20.80 per $1,000, so its bill still climbed about 11%. With 2026 rates not yet set, we pair the 2026 assessment with the 2025 rate plus a cushion to show early whether a Milwaukee apartment loan reaches 1.25x.
Apartment List shows Milwaukee's median rent up 5.3% in the first nine months of 2026, against 2.7% over the same stretch of 2025, though proceeds are sized on actual collections. If a building took on water in August 2025 or April 2026, bring repair invoices and any claim file.
Milwaukee Apartment Building Loans Across a Mostly Pre-1960 Housing Stock
Of Milwaukee's 259,101 housing units in Census Bureau estimates for 2020 to 2024, 88,129 were built in 1939 or earlier, about 64% predate 1960 and 55,628 sit in two-unit buildings. Riverwest still had examples of the Polish flat, a basement apartment under a single-family or duplex house, in the 21st century. We finance:
- Pre-1940 walk-ups and courtyard buildings
- Historic Third Ward warehouse lofts
- Downtown and lakefront high-rises
- Postwar garden apartment complexes
- Affordable and tax-credit communities
- Student housing near UWM and Marquette
Milwaukee Multifamily Execution for Towers and Income-Restricted Communities
For a large Milwaukee rent roll, Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae can lend to 80% LTV, set terms reaching 30 years and hold the borrower personally liable only for the customary carve-outs. HUD's FHA-insured loans run on the longest schedule, up to 40 years with full payoff, a ceiling Fannie Mae states for its FHA Risk Share loans. Conduit (CMBS) loans carry no recourse, while banks bend on structure and frequently require recourse.
Properties on the scale of The Corliss (576 apartments) or The Couture (322) fit Milwaukee multifamily loans; agency details sit on our Fannie Mae program page and Freddie Mac program page.
Milwaukee Multifamily Loan Rates
For larger balances, over $6 million
Milwaukee Offices, Warehouses, Hotels and Clinics We Also Finance
Menomonee Valley plants, downtown offices and Third Ward storefronts are shopped to lenders the way Milwaukee apartments are:
Nearby Apartment Loan Markets
For buildings in Madison, elsewhere in Wisconsin or outside the state, continue here:
Recent Apartment Loan Closings
Lenders competed for each out-of-state loan pictured below, the same way they compete for a Milwaukee request.
What Our Clients Say
“I am a veterinarian who purchased an existing practice. I was surprised to find a company that offered 100% financing at a good rate, with great terms and rates for medical office financing.”
Carol K. · Chicago, IL“I spoke to several commercial lenders before finding Select Commercial. They got me a lower rate and their service was exceptional. If you need a multifamily loan, you need to talk to Stephen.”
Nathan B. · Philadelphia, PA“Select Commercial was very helpful with my multifamily mortgage. Stephen went over several options and we came up with the best lender to meet my needs. I got the funds and also lowered my payments.”
Gary M. · Portland, OR“Select Commercial offered 100% financing for my medical practice when my bank would have required 20% down. They delivered something my bank could not, and handled everything professionally.”
John C. · Boston, MAGet Your Milwaukee Apartment Loan Quote
Milwaukee lenders will want the rent roll, a year of operating statements, the 2026 assessment notice and 2025 tax bill, Property Registration confirmation for each tax key, any City code orders, and insurance declarations, with flood coverage where the FEMA zone requires it.
- No application or processing fees
- Written answers within 48 hours
- For 5+ unit and commercial properties, $1.5M and up