Engagements open nationwide9 to 16 business day turnaround

See Your Project Location(628) 225-1110infommcginvest.com

Multifamily Feasibility Study Case Study: Bank Construction Loan to Agency Take-Out for Market-Rate Apartments in Waukesha, Wisconsin

Michal Mohelsky, J.D., Principal of MMCG InvestMichal Mohelsky, J.D., FMVA, Practicing Affiliate of the Appraisal InstitutePublished October 1, 2026

A 150-unit Class A community on a 4.87-acre site on Saylesville Road in the City of Waukesha, financed with a bank construction loan and taken out by a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac permanent loan after stabilization. With the 10-year Treasury at 5.26 percent and agency spreads near 160 basis points, the 1.25x coverage test, not the 80 percent loan-to-value cap, sizes the take-out: $21,056,000 against a $39,000,000 total project cost, which repays a construction loan held at 53 percent of cost with $386,000 to spare. Debt service coverage of 1.25x at stabilization in Year 3 and 1.33x in Year 5, and a written determination of feasible, conditioned on construction leverage held at or below 53 percent, a rate cap or forward lock, and a non-appealable entitlement before closing.

Model study prepared by MMCG Invest | Michal Mohelsky, J.D., FMVA | October 1, 2026

Study at a Glance

ItemFinding
SubjectSaylesville Road at River Road, Waukesha, WI 53189
Site4.87 acres, marketed on LoopNet at $500,000, zoned T1 Temporary (listing states commercial or residential use), rezoning to Rm-3 required
Program150 units: 15 studio, 75 one-bedroom, 50 two-bedroom and 10 three-bedroom, four-story wood frame with 60 underground stalls, 152,000 SF gross
Loan structureBank construction loan at 53 percent of cost, floating at SOFR plus 275 basis points with a rate cap; Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac fixed-rate take-out at 80 percent of value and 1.25x after 90 percent occupancy for 90 days
Total Subject Project Cost$39,000,000 ($260,000 per unit)
Stabilized revenue (Year 3)$3,587,412
Debt service coverage on the take-out1.13x Year 2, 1.25x Year 3, 1.29x Year 4, 1.33x Year 5
Break-even occupancy (Year 3)36.5 percent before debt, 81.9 percent at 1.0x coverage, 93.0 percent at 1.25x
DeterminationFeasible, subject to construction leverage at or below 53 percent of cost, a rate cap or forward rate lock on the take-out, a non-appealable Rm-3 rezoning before the construction loan closes, and a bound insurance quote

Determination

MMCG concludes that the proposed 150-unit community on Saylesville Road in Waukesha, Wisconsin is feasible under a bank construction loan taken out by agency permanent debt, on a thin margin that the structure has to protect. At a 6.88 percent agency coupon, the 10-year Treasury of 5.26 percent on September 29, 2026 plus the 162 basis point fixed-rate multifamily spread CBRE reported for the second quarter, and a 30-year amortization, the 1.25x coverage test sizes the take-out at $21,056,000 on Year 3 cash flow after reserves of $2,075,927; the 80 percent loan-to-value test would allow $30,740,000 at a 5.50 percent capitalization rate and is not reached by $9,684,000. A construction loan of $20,670,000, 53 percent of the $39,000,000 cost, is repaid with $386,000 to spare; at 55 percent of cost the take-out falls $394,000 short, and at 60 percent the gap is $2,344,000. Each 25 basis point move in the coupon moves the take-out by about $540,000, and at today's rents without the 3 percent annual growth the study carries to stabilization the take-out is $19,030,000 and the gap is $1,640,000. The market supports the Project: Waukesha County's deliveries fall about 80 percent in 2026 after a record 2025, the Eastern Waukesha County submarket absorbed 1,025 units in the year to September 2025 while vacancy rose only to 5.1 percent, and the newest competitors publish one-bedroom rents of $1,675 to $1,899 and two-bedroom rents of $1,964 to $2,430 on their own websites. The determination is conditioned on four items: construction leverage at or below 53 percent of cost with sponsor equity of $18,330,000; a rate cap on the construction loan and a forward rate lock or an agency lease-up execution as the take-out strategy; a non-appealable Rm-3 rezoning of the T1 parcel before the construction loan closes, because an approved 219-unit project a mile away has been held for more than two years by a neighbor's appeal; and a bound property insurance quote at closing.

Scope and Basis of This Model Study

This is an MMCG model study: a complete feasibility analysis performed on a real, publicly marketed parcel using public data, prepared to show construction lenders and sponsors how MMCG underwrites the take-out risk on a market-rate apartment project when debt service coverage, not loan-to-value, sizes the permanent loan. It is not a client engagement, MMCG has no relationship with the landowner or the listing broker, and the analysis does not represent an offer, an appraisal or a recommendation to buy the parcel. Figures drawn from government sources, property websites, the City of Waukesha's records and the listing are identified as such. Figures labeled MMCG assumption are underwriting inputs set by MMCG from industry benchmarks, and items that could not be verified from a primary source at the study date are listed in the Conditions and Limitations section rather than estimated silently. In particular, the City of Waukesha's Rm-3 density, height and parking standards, the current asking rents at two of the five competitors, Waukesha County's 2026 submarket occupancy from a named source, the bank's construction loan terms, and the agency coupon at rate lock were not confirmed from primary sources at the study date and are carried as stated assumptions.

Project Business Plan

The Project will operate as a Class A market-rate apartment community on the 4.87-acre parcel at Saylesville Road and River Road in the City of Waukesha, Waukesha County, Wisconsin, on the city's west side between the Fox River and Interstate 94. The physical program comprises two four-story wood-frame buildings over a partial below-grade parking level, with brick and fiber cement veneer, holding 150 units in four plans: 15 studios of 550 SF, 75 one-bedroom units of 750 SF, 50 two-bedroom units of 1,050 SF and 10 three-bedroom units of 1,250 SF, for 129,500 SF of net rentable area and 152,000 SF gross, together with a clubroom and leasing office of 3,500 SF, a fitness room, a package room, a rooftop terrace, a dog run, 60 heated underground stalls and 203 surface spaces at 1.75 per unit. The community will be managed by a third-party fee manager at 3 percent of effective gross income with an on-site staff of four full-time equivalents. The sponsor will hold the land and improvements in a single-asset limited liability company that borrows the construction loan with the sponsor's principals providing a repayment guarantee that burns off at stabilization, and the agency take-out will be non-recourse with standard carve-outs. The Project is positioned between the city's 2023 to 2025 deliveries and the Brookfield town-center product at asking rents of $1,450 for a studio, $1,750 for a one-bedroom, $2,200 for a two-bedroom and $2,500 for a three-bedroom at opening, with a lease-up concession of up to one month free on initial leases and no concession in the stabilized year.

Marketing and Sales Strategy

Pre-leasing begins four months before the first certificate of occupancy from a leasing office in the first completed building. The primary channel is the employer base along the Interstate 94 corridor, the GE HealthCare, ProHealth Care and Generac workforces in Waukesha and Pewaukee and the Froedtert and Medical College campuses to the east, whose renters have moved within the county rather than into it. Digital acquisition runs through the internet listing services and search advertising on Waukesha, Pewaukee and Brookfield apartment terms. The concession budget is held in the lease-up line of the sources and uses and released against the weekly leasing report, with the one-month-free offer withdrawn as each floor reaches 85 percent leased; the subject's concession is set below the two months free advertised at two competitors because the county's 2026 delivery gap removes most of the lease-up competition by the subject's opening. Retention runs through renewal pricing held at or below 3 percent in the first renewal cycle and through the heated underground stalls, which are the amenity Wisconsin renters pay for.

Amenities

  • Clubroom and leasing office of 3,500 SF with coworking room and conference room
  • Fitness center of 1,200 SF, open 24 hours by access card
  • Rooftop terrace with grills and fire tables
  • Dog run and pet wash station
  • Package room with refrigerated lockers
  • 60 heated underground stalls and 203 surface spaces
  • In-unit washer and dryer, quartz counters, stainless appliances, 9-foot ceilings, private balconies
  • Smart locks, smart thermostats and bulk internet included in rent

Site and Location Analysis

The parcel is a 4.87-acre tract at Saylesville Road and River Road in the City of Waukesha, marketed on LoopNet at $500,000, about $103,000 per acre; a second listing of the same tract describes it as about 4 acres under MLS 1935523, currently zoned T1 Temporary, with land that can be used for commercial or residential purposes. The City of Waukesha is the county seat of Waukesha County, 17 miles west of downtown Milwaukee on Interstate 94, and the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimate places the city's population at 70,872 on July 1, 2025, down 0.4 percent from the 2020 census, with a median household income of $83,837 over 2020 to 2024, 9.8 percent of persons in poverty, a renter share of 41.2 percent of occupied housing units and a median gross rent of $1,219. Waukesha County held 417,210 residents in 2025, up 2.5 percent since 2020, with a median household income of $106,076, a renter share of 24.0 percent, a median gross rent of $1,356 and 1,178 building permits in 2025.

The city's flat population is the demand fact the study carries. Waukesha is not a growth market; it is a replacement market, in which a county with income 27 percent above the city's and a renter share of 24 percent supplies a thin but affluent pool of renters who move within the county for product rather than into it for jobs. The subject's demand case rests on that pool, on the 2025 delivery wave having been absorbed, and on the near absence of 2026 and 2027 deliveries in the county, not on household growth.

Zoning and Entitlement

The parcel is zoned T1 Temporary, a holding district, and the Project requires a rezoning to Rm-3 Multi-Family Residential or a planned unit development overlay from the City of Waukesha. The city's official zoning map lists Rm-1 Mixed Residential, Rm-2 and Rm-3 Multi-Family Residential, B-2 Central Business and Rm-3 planned unit development overlays as the districts carrying multifamily; the Rm-3 maximum density, height and parking standards were not retrieved at the study date. The Project's 30.8 units per acre with four-story buildings and 1.75 spaces per unit sits below the 43.71 units per acre the Plan Commission approved for Mandel Group's 219-unit Delafield Street project on 5.01 acres in October 2024, and below the roughly 50-foot height limit the city's principal planner cited for the former UW-Milwaukee at Waukesha campus near the airport.

The Delafield Street project is the entitlement precedent and the warning. It was approved by the Plan Commission, the city committed $6,000,000 of tax increment financing payable at certificate of occupancy, and a neighbor's lawsuit was dismissed in June 2025 and appealed to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals; the decision was still pending in February 2026 when the Plan Commission extended the approval to November 2028. An approved, subsidized 219-unit project has not broken ground more than two years after approval. The determination is therefore conditioned on a rezoning that is final and non-appealable before the construction loan closes, and the schedule carries nine months from submittal to ordinance plus the appeal period.

Utilities, Fees and Property Tax

Water and sewer service is provided by the City of Waukesha, which draws Lake Michigan water under its 2023 diversion, and the budget carries $450,000 for connections and the city's fees as a stated allowance. Wisconsin municipalities do not levy residential impact fees of the kind common in the Sun Belt and none beyond the connection fees is carried.

Property tax is the largest Wisconsin-specific line and it is verified. The 2025 tax bill for an existing apartment property in the city shows a net rate of $13.42074 per $1,000 of assessed value before credits and an assessment ratio of 97.43 percent of estimated fair market value, which produces an effective rate of about $13.08 per $1,000 of market value. The study carries a first full-year assessment of $36,000,000, or $240,000 per unit, as an MMCG assumption, for a Year 1 tax of $483,147, or $3,221 per unit, escalating 2 percent per year to $502,666 in Year 3. That is about 1.9 times the IREM 2024 national real estate tax figure of $1,726 per unit and 14 percent of effective gross income at stabilization, and it is why the operating budget runs above the national benchmarks.

Trade Area Demographics

The primary market area is a 15-minute drive time from the parcel covering the City of Waukesha, Pewaukee, the Town of Waukesha and the western edge of Brookfield. Within it the renter pool for a $1,450 to $2,500 rent schedule is set by the affordability ratio of 30 percent of income: a one-bedroom at $1,750 requires household income of $70,000 and a two-bedroom at $2,200 requires $88,000, against a city median of $83,837 and a county median of $106,076. The income-qualified pool is therefore the upper half of the county's renter households, which at 24 percent renter occupancy across about 170,000 occupied units is roughly 20,000 households in the county and about 8,000 in the primary market area, and the subject at 150 units needs to capture under 2 percent of them. The American Community Survey renter household income table for the market area was not retrieved at the study date and the pool is carried as an estimate.

Demand and Penetration

The Milwaukee market is the strongest large Midwest market in 2026 on rent growth. RealPage's August 2026 update reports annual rent growth of 5.1 percent for Milwaukee, the highest among the major Midwest markets, against 2 percent for the region, after readings of 3.5 percent in May and 3.4 percent in the second quarter. HUD's October 2025 market profile, drawing on CoStar, placed metro apartment vacancy at 5.5 percent in the third quarter of 2025, average rent at $1,422 and up 2 percent, 4,150 units completed in the preceding twelve months and 2,975 under construction, and reported that the Eastern Waukesha County submarket completed 1,025 units in the same year, a record, while its vacancy rose from 3.3 to 5.1 percent and its average rent rose 3 percent to $1,066. Multifamily permitting fell sharply after the wave: Waukesha County permitted 910 units in 2024 and 850 fewer in the twelve months to August 2025.

Marcus and Millichap's second-quarter 2026 Milwaukee report, as reported by REjournals, projects about 1,050 completions across the metro in 2026, inventory growth of about 0.6 percent, and an approximately 80 percent drop in deliveries in Waukesha County after a record number of units in 2025; its first-quarter report says the Waukesha and Washington County suburbs are poised for stronger rent growth as net absorption outpaces new supply following 2025's record delivery wave, while noting softer rent growth and more prevalent concessions in the downtown and Brown Deer submarkets. The penetration test follows: the subject's 150 units are 14 percent of the metro's 2026 deliveries and the only sizable 2028 delivery identified in the City of Waukesha, and against the submarket's absorption of 1,025 units in a record year, the subject needs to capture about 15 percent of a normal year's absorption to stabilize in 12 months, which a replacement market with a two-year delivery gap supports. The downtown Milwaukee high-rise The Couture, 322 units, leased 30 percent of its units in its first three to seven months in 2024, a pace of 14 to 32 units per month; MMCG carries 12 units per month for a suburban garden and podium product.

The pipeline risk is the former UW-Milwaukee at Waukesha campus at 1500 North University Drive. The County Board approved its sale on September 22, 2026 for about 70 single-family homes and about 600 market-rate apartments on the 76-acre site, with demolition expected in early 2027 and initial housing phases starting in late 2027, subject to Plan Commission and Common Council approval. Those units are a 2028-and-later supply risk, not a 2027 one, and the subject's 2027 lease-up is complete before the first of them delivers; the sensitivity case carries an 85 percent stabilized occupancy for the overlap.

Competitive Supply

MMCG identified five market-rate communities delivered in Waukesha, Pewaukee and Brookfield since 2018 or in lease-up. Three publish rents on their own websites, which are quoted; two load rents dynamically and their rents could not be read at the study date.

Competitor Number 1 BridgeWalk Apartments. This 116-unit community is located at 205 W St Paul Avenue, Waukesha, WI 53188 on the Fox River downtown and was developed by Mandel Group, whose news archive reports ground broken in January 2022 and completion expected in early 2023. The property's own website, captured September 30, 2026, publishes a one-bedroom plan of 1,016 SF from $1,899, two-bedroom plans of 1,116 and 1,241 SF from $1,964 and $2,243, and a three-bedroom plan of 1,349 SF from $2,276, with studio plans of 431 and 587 SF unpriced on the capture date. It advertises a $3,000 rent credit on leases of twelve months or longer signed between September 30 and October 23, 2026, after an earlier one-month-free offer. The property is stabilized.

Competitor Number 2 Alta Apartments. This community is located at W233N2094 Ridgeview Parkway, Pewaukee, WI 53188 and opened in October 2025; a listing aggregator, used only to locate the property, shows 161 units, a count not confirmed on the property's own site. The property's own website publishes one-bedroom plans of 756 and 873 SF at $1,675 to $1,715 and from $1,895, and two-bedroom plans of 1,080 to 1,186 SF from $2,100, $2,225, $2,300 and $2,430, with no three-bedroom plan and no concession shown. The property is in lease-up.

Competitor Number 3 Springs at Meadowbrook. This 320-unit townhome-style community is located at 601 Sierra Circle, Waukesha, WI 53189 on 63 acres and was developed by Continental Properties, whose releases report pre-leasing from the summer of 2024 and a grand opening with the community now leasing. The property's own website lists studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom plans and advertises up to two months free on select homes; its rents load through an embedded map and were not readable at the study date. The concession level indicates the property is still absorbing.

Competitor Number 4 The Village at Fox River. This 174-unit community is located at 2601 Elkhart Drive, Waukesha, WI 53189 and describes itself on its own website, modified September 15, 2026, as newly built, offering studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. It advertises two months free with free internet and cable on select two-bedroom units and one month free on select one-bedroom units. Its year built and its rents by plan were not retrieved at the study date.

Competitor Number 5 Poplar Creek Town Center. This 436-unit, five-building community is located on Poplar Creek Parkway in Brookfield and was developed by Wimmer Communities, with two buildings opening in each of 2024 and 2025 and the fifth under construction for 2027 according to HUD's October 2025 market profile. Floor plan pages on the owner's own website show studios of 539 and 602 SF from $1,439 and $1,537 to $1,848, one-bedroom plans of 1,053 to 1,141 SF from $2,136 and $2,326, two-bedroom plans of 1,165 to 1,229 SF from $2,309 to $2,780, and a three-bedroom plan from $3,306, with no concession captured. The NorthBrook building is in lease-up.

The verified set brackets the subject. The Waukesha and Pewaukee product leases one-bedroom units at $1,675 to $1,899 and two-bedroom units at $1,964 to $2,430; the Brookfield town-center product sits $300 to $500 higher. Two of the five communities are offering one to two months free, which is the lease-up concession the subject's budget carries outside its stabilized income.

Pricing and Rate Positioning

The subject's opening rent schedule is set inside the verified band. The one-bedroom rent of $1,750 sits between Alta's $1,675 to $1,895 and BridgeWalk's $1,899 for larger plans; the two-bedroom rent of $2,200 sits between BridgeWalk's $1,964 to $2,243 and Alta's $2,100 to $2,430; the studio rent of $1,450 is set at the Poplar Creek studio floor of $1,439 to $1,537, and the three-bedroom rent of $2,500 above BridgeWalk's $2,276 for a larger plan with underground parking. The blended asking rent is $1,920 per unit per month, $2.22 per square foot, 57 percent above the city's median gross rent of $1,219 across all vintages and 42 percent above the county's.

Concessions are modeled in two places. In the stabilized year the subject carries a 7 percent vacancy and collection loss and no concession, above the submarket's 5.1 percent vacancy and inside the agency's underwriting convention. In lease-up it offers up to one month free on initial leases, carried at 10 percent of gross potential rent in Year 1 and 2 percent in Year 2. Rents escalate 3 percent per year, below RealPage's 5.1 percent Milwaukee reading, and the growth is what carries the take-out: at today's rents the take-out is $19,030,000 and the construction loan is $1,640,000 short.

Lease-Up and Occupancy

The Project opens in the first quarter of 2028 after an 18-month construction period and leases up at 12 units per month to 90 percent occupancy in about eleven months, then to a stabilized 93 percent occupancy from the second quarter of 2029. Fannie Mae's conventional execution requires stabilized occupancy, typically 90 percent, for 90 days before funding, so the take-out is scheduled about 15 months after first deliveries, in the second quarter of 2029, and the construction loan's interest and operating reserve is sized to carry the asset to that date. Freddie Mac's lease-up execution, which funds at 75 percent of value with the property 50 percent occupied and 60 percent leased at rate lock and a holdback of at least 5 percent, and Fannie Mae's near-stabilization execution at 75 percent of value with 75 percent physical occupancy at rate lock, are the fallbacks if the coupon moves against the sponsor during lease-up.

YearAverage occupancyOccupied units (of 150)Blended asking rentLease-up concessionTotal revenue
Year 155 percent82.5$1,920$345,600$1,654,200
Year 291 percent136.5$1,978$71,194$3,336,829
Year 393 percent139.5$2,037none$3,587,412
Year 493 percent139.5$2,098none$3,695,034
Year 593 percent139.5$2,161none$3,805,886

Other income, which comprises underground parking rent, pet rent, bulk internet margin and fees, is carried at $100 per occupied unit per month and escalates with rent. Year 1 average occupancy of 55 percent corresponds to roughly 90 percent at month 11; Year 2 average occupancy of 91 percent corresponds to stabilization at 93 percent and the agency's 90-day seasoning during the year, with conversion at the end of Year 2.

Project Cost Estimate

Location: Saylesville Road at River Road, Waukesha, WI 53189 Size in SF (Gross): 152,000

ItemCostCost in %Cost per SF
Land Cost
Land Acquisition (4.87 acres, Saylesville Road, asking price)$500,0001.3%$3.29
Closing, Survey, Phase I and Geotechnical$40,0000.1%$0.26
Total Land Cost$540,0001.4%$3.55
Hard Cost
Base Cost$18,500,00047.4%$121.71
Exterior Walls$2,128,0005.5%$14.00
Heating & Cooling$2,128,0005.5%$14.00
Plumbing and Fire Sprinkler$1,520,0003.9%$10.00
Electrical and Lighting$1,520,0003.9%$10.00
Underground Parking Deck (60 stalls)$2,100,0005.4%$13.82
Site Work, Paving and Stormwater$1,650,0004.2%$10.86
Landscaping and Courtyards$300,0000.8%$1.97
Utility Connections and City of Waukesha Fees$450,0001.2%$2.96
Architecture, Engineering and Permits$1,400,0003.6%$9.21
Hard Cost Contingency (5%)$1,584,8004.1%$10.43
Total Hard Cost$33,280,80085.3%$218.95
Improvements
Clubroom, Leasing Office, Fitness and Model Unit FF&E$330,0000.8%$2.17
Signage$30,0000.1%$0.20
Access Control, Package and Technology Systems$100,0000.3%$0.66
Equipment Contingency (5%)$23,0000.1%$0.15
Total Equipment$483,0001.2%$3.18
Financial Cost
Construction Period Interest$1,173,0003.0%$7.72
Construction Loan Fees (1%)$207,0000.5%$1.36
Interest Rate Cap$300,0000.8%$1.97
Legal, Title and Closing$200,0000.5%$1.32
Interest and Operating Reserve Through Lease-Up and Seasoning$2,500,0006.4%$16.45
Pre-Leasing Marketing and Lease-Up Operations$316,2000.8%$2.08
Total Financial Cost$4,696,20012.0%$30.90
Total Subject Project Cost$39,000,000100.0%$256.58

Source: Marshall & Swift CoreLogic, MMCG

Total project cost of $260,000 per unit sits below the $341,000 per unit average of MAA's 2026 development pipeline because the land is $3,333 per unit on a $500,000 parcel and the building is wood frame over a partial underground level rather than a full podium; hard cost of $219 per square foot gross reflects Wisconsin's heating and envelope requirements, the underground deck at $35,000 per stall, and a four-story type V-A building over slab. The interest and operating reserve of $2,500,000 carries construction-period interest beyond the capitalized amount and the Year 1 shortfall of $1,386,773 against the take-out's debt service equivalent through the agency's seasoning period, with a margin of about $500,000 against a slower lease-up; the rate cap of $300,000 is the condition precedent on the floating construction loan.

Loan Assumptions

ItemValue
Construction loan$20,670,000 at 53% of cost, floating at SOFR (3.88% on September 29, 2026) plus 275 basis points, about 6.63%, 36-month term with two 12-month extensions, repayment guarantee burning off at stabilization (MMCG assumptions; bank terms not verified)
Equity$18,330,000 (47%)
Take-out$21,056,000 Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac fixed rate, sized at 1.25x (implied 54.8% loan-to-value at a 5.50% capitalization rate; the 80% cap would allow $30,740,000)
Interest Rate6.88% (10-year Treasury 5.26% plus the 162 basis point spread CBRE reported for the second quarter of 2026; MMCG assumption at rate lock)
Amortization30 years, 10-year term
Annual Debt Service$1,660,700 on the take-out
Take-out less construction loan$386,000 (clears)

The take-out is the determination. Fannie Mae's conventional term sheet sizes at a maximum loan-to-value of 80 percent and a minimum coverage of 1.25x with stabilized occupancy of typically 90 percent for 90 days before funding, and Freddie Mac's fixed-rate term sheet sizes at 1.25x and 75 to 80 percent of value depending on term. At a 6.88 percent coupon the coverage test produces $21,056,000, 54.8 percent of a $38,426,000 value, and the loan-to-value test never enters; the construction loan has to sit below that figure or the sponsor funds the difference at conversion. The debt yield on the construction loan at stabilization is 10.0 percent, which is the figure a bank's credit committee will test against its own floor.

Agency and Bank Program Compliance

The construction lender's standards are the Federal Reserve's July 2026 survey finding: construction and land development standards basically unchanged, with large banks easing and other banks holding. In mid-2025 a bank construction loan at SOFR plus 200 to 300 basis points and 50 percent of cost was the market, with a full or partial repayment guarantee, and Associated Bank's $59,850,000 syndicated construction loan for the 267-unit Westrock Residences in Hartland in October 2024 and its $8,846,600 loan for The Carillon at Grafton in June 2026 show that Wisconsin banks are lending on suburban Milwaukee apartments; their terms were not disclosed and the study's 53 percent, SOFR plus 275 basis point structure is an MMCG assumption. The study's conditions are the ones a bank's committee will set: a rate cap, a burn-off guarantee tied to stabilization, and a take-out analysis at the coupon in effect at closing.

The agency take-out is underwritten to the term sheets. Fannie Mae's conventional execution requires 90 percent occupancy for 90 days; its near-stabilization execution, for properties of $10,000,000 or more expected to stabilize within 120 days, funds at 75 percent of stabilized value and 1.25x with 75 percent physical occupancy at rate lock, twelve months of interest-only and full disbursement at closing. Freddie Mac's lease-up execution funds at 75 percent of value and 1.25x to 1.35x depending on market, with the property 50 percent occupied and 60 percent leased at rate lock and a holdback of at least 5 percent of the unpaid principal balance. Either lease-up execution lets the sponsor lock the coupon before stabilization at the cost of five points of leverage, and the study recommends the near-stabilization path if the 10-year Treasury rises above 5.50 percent during construction, because at a 7.13 percent coupon the conventional take-out falls to $20,532,000 and the construction loan is $138,000 short.

Operating Expenses

The Year 3 operating budget at 93 percent occupancy is built by line for Waukesha, with property tax at the verified 2025 rate and insurance at the Wisconsin cost per unit.

Line (Year 3, 93 percent occupancy)AmountPer unit per year
Property tax (assessed $36,000,000 at $13.42 per $1,000, escalated)$502,666$3,351
Property and liability insurance$115,762$772
Payroll and benefits (4 FTE), repairs and maintenance, snow removal, turnover, utilities, marketing and administrative$747,934$4,986
Management fee (3 percent of effective gross income)$107,622$717
Total operating expenses$1,473,986$9,827
Net operating income$2,113,427$14,090
NOI margin58.9 percent
Replacement reserve ($250 per unit)$37,500$250
Cash flow available for debt service$2,075,927$13,840

Property tax is 34 percent of the operating budget and 14 percent of effective gross income. The all-in operating cost of $9,827 per unit sits above the IREM 2024 national figure of $7,981 and the National Apartment Association's $8,657 for the same year because the tax line is nearly double the national average and the controllable line carries Wisconsin heating and snow removal; the expense ratio of 41.1 percent is above the 32 percent same-store ratio of the largest coastal REIT for the same reasons. Insurance is carried at $700 per unit in Year 1, below the National Apartment Association's 2024 national average of $777 because a Wisconsin address carries no wind or flood load, and escalates 5 percent per year. The net operating income of $14,090 per unit supports the 5.50 percent capitalization rate and the 5.42 percent yield on cost, which is below the 6.88 percent coupon, the negative leverage that makes the coverage test bind.

Five-Year Pro Forma and Debt Service Coverage

LineYear 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5
Gross potential rent$3,456,000$3,559,680$3,666,470$3,776,465$3,889,758
Vacancy and collection loss($1,555,200)($320,371)($256,653)($264,353)($272,283)
Lease-up concessions($345,600)($71,194)$0$0$0
Other income$99,000$168,714$177,595$182,922$188,410
Effective gross income$1,654,200$3,336,829$3,587,412$3,695,034$3,805,886
Total operating expenses$1,342,773$1,429,315$1,473,986$1,515,494$1,558,262
Net operating income$311,427$1,907,514$2,113,427$2,179,541$2,247,623
NOI margin18.8%57.2%58.9%59.0%59.1%
Replacement reserve ($250 per unit)$37,500$37,500$37,500$37,500$37,500
Cash flow available for debt service$273,927$1,870,014$2,075,927$2,142,041$2,210,123
Take-out debt service (equivalent)$1,660,700$1,660,700$1,660,700$1,660,700$1,660,700
Cash flow after debt service($1,386,773)$209,314$415,227$481,341$549,423
Debt service coveragereserve1.13x1.25x1.29x1.33x

Year 1 is the lease-up year under the construction loan, and the shortfall against the take-out's debt service equivalent of $1,386,773 is funded from the interest and operating reserve; the construction loan's own floating interest of about $1,370,000 at 6.63 percent is of the same order. The Project reaches the agency's 1.25x in Year 3, the first full year on the take-out, and builds to 1.33x by Year 5 as rents escalate at 3 percent against a tax line at 2 percent and controllable expenses at 3 percent. The yield on cost of 5.42 percent in Year 3 is below the 6.88 percent coupon, which is why the coverage test sizes the take-out at 54.8 percent of value and why the sponsor's return is earned on the exit.

Break-Even Analysis

At Year 3 rents, the community's fixed operating cost is $1,403,862 including the replacement reserve, and its variable cost is the management fee.

ThresholdOccupied unitsOccupancy
NOI break-even54.836.5 percent
1.00x debt service coverage122.981.9 percent
1.25x debt service coverage139.593.0 percent
Year 3 forecast139.593.0 percent

The 1.25x threshold at 93.0 percent occupancy sits at the stabilized forecast by construction of the coverage-sized take-out, and the debt break-even at 81.9 percent is where the credit lives; against a submarket vacancy of 5.1 percent and a two-year delivery gap, the eleven-point cushion is the reason the determination is feasible rather than feasible as resized.

Sensitivity Analysis

Case (Year 3)Effective gross incomeNet operating incomeDebt service coverage on the take-out
Base case$3,587,412$2,113,4271.25x
Rents 5 percent below forecast$3,416,921$1,948,0511.15x
Stabilized occupancy of 90 percent$3,471,689$2,001,1761.18x
Stabilized occupancy of 85 percent (UW-Waukesha campus units overlap the subject)$3,278,817$1,814,0911.07x
Controllable expenses 10 percent above budget$3,587,412$2,038,6341.20x
Combined: rents 5 percent lower and occupancy of 90 percent$3,306,698$1,841,1351.09x
Take-out coupon 6.63 percent (take-out resized to $21,603,000)$3,587,412$2,113,4271.25x, construction loan repaid with $933,000 to spare
Take-out coupon 7.13 percent (take-out resized to $20,532,000)$3,587,412$2,113,4271.25x, construction loan $138,000 short
No rent growth to stabilization (take-out $19,030,000)$3,381,480$1,913,6741.25x, construction loan $1,640,000 short
Construction loan at 60 percent of cost ($23,400,000)$3,587,412$2,113,427take-out $2,344,000 short

The Project holds coverage above 1.0x on the take-out in every operating case, including the 85 percent occupancy case that represents the UW-Waukesha campus units overlapping the subject's stabilization. The cases that matter are the financing cases. The take-out is resized by the coverage test at rate lock, so coverage does not move with the coupon; the proceeds do, and each 25 basis points is about $540,000, which is why the rate cap and the forward lock or lease-up execution are conditions. The no-growth case shows that the determination relies on 3 percent annual rent growth between now and stabilization, which is below the submarket's current pace; and the 60 percent leverage case shows what the sponsor should not do.

Risk Factors and Mitigants

  • Rate. The take-out is sized by coverage at a 6.88 percent coupon, and a 25 basis point rise reduces proceeds by about $540,000 against a $386,000 cushion. A rate cap on the construction loan, an early rate lock through Freddie Mac's lease-up or Fannie Mae's near-stabilization execution at 75 percent of value, and a sponsor commitment to pay down the construction loan at conversion are the mitigants.
  • Leverage. The construction loan at 53 percent of cost is the maximum the take-out repays. The determination is conditioned on it; at 55 percent the gap is $394,000 and at 60 percent it is $2,344,000.
  • Entitlement. The T1 parcel requires an Rm-3 rezoning, and the Delafield Street precedent shows that an approved project can be held for years by an appeal. A final, non-appealable ordinance before the construction loan closes is a condition.
  • Rent growth. The take-out relies on 3 percent annual growth to stabilization. Milwaukee's 5.1 percent reading supports it; a flat market leaves a $1,640,000 gap, and the sponsor's equity should be sized with that margin.
  • Pipeline. The UW-Waukesha campus plan of about 600 apartments is a 2028-and-later risk. The 85 percent occupancy case holds coverage at 1.07x, and the subject's stabilization precedes the campus deliveries.
  • Tax. Property tax at the verified 2025 rate is 14 percent of effective gross income. The first-year assessment of $240,000 per unit is an assumption, and the City Assessor's practice on new construction should be confirmed before closing.
  • Cost. Hard cost at $219 per square foot gross carries a 5 percent contingency, with the underground deck and the heating package the lines to buy out at permit.

Conditions and Limitations

The determination of feasible is subject to the following conditions precedent:

  1. Construction leverage at or below 53 percent of total project cost, $20,670,000, with a written sponsor equity commitment of $18,330,000 and a stated margin for a pay-down of up to $1,000,000 at conversion.
  2. A rate cap on the construction loan and a take-out strategy of a forward rate lock, a Freddie Mac lease-up execution or a Fannie Mae near-stabilization execution, elected before the construction loan closes.
  3. A final and non-appealable Rm-3 rezoning or planned unit development approval from the City of Waukesha for 150 units on the parcel before the construction loan closes.
  4. A bound property and liability insurance quote at or below $700 per unit at closing.

The following items could not be verified from a primary source at the study date and are disclosed: the City of Waukesha's Rm-3 maximum density, height, parking ratio and design standards; the Saylesville Road parcel's acreage, which the two listings state as 4.87 and about 4 acres, and the city's view of its rezoning; the current asking rents at Springs at Meadowbrook and The Village at Fox River, and the latter's year built; Alta Apartments' unit count and BridgeWalk's year built from the properties' own sites; the occupancy of any competitor; a named 2026 figure for Waukesha County or submarket occupancy, rent growth and units under construction, the HUD data running through the third quarter of 2025; the status of the Delafield Street appeal and any Plan Commission action on the UW-Waukesha campus after September 23, 2026; the 2026 City of Waukesha mill rate and the Assessor's practice for new multifamily; Milwaukee or Midwest operating expenses per unit from a named source; the bank's construction loan terms; and the agency coupon at rate lock, carried at 6.88 percent as an MMCG assumption from the September 29, 2026 Treasury and the second-quarter CBRE spread.

What the Study Contains

  • The written determination with its four conditions precedent and the take-out arithmetic stated at each coupon and leverage level
  • The site program and the site-fit analysis for 150 units on 4.87 acres against the Delafield Street density precedent
  • The zoning and entitlement path, the T1 rezoning requirement and the appeal risk from the public record
  • The property tax basis at the verified 2025 rate and the assessment assumption stated
  • The trade area demographics and the income-qualified renter pool
  • The competitor census with the three properties' rents quoted from their own websites, the two unreadable ones disclosed, and the concessions recorded
  • The market data from RealPage, HUD and Marcus and Millichap, the pipeline census and the UW-Waukesha campus risk
  • The rent schedule, the concession treatment in lease-up and at stabilization, and the lease-up to a 93 percent stabilization with the agency's seasoning
  • The project cost estimate and loan assumptions in MMCG's standard format, with the construction loan and the take-out side by side
  • The operating budget by line with property tax at the verified rate
  • The five-year pro forma, debt service coverage by year on the take-out and break-even occupancy
  • The sensitivity cases, including the coupon cases, the no-growth case and the 60 percent leverage case
  • The program notes: Fannie Mae conventional and near-stabilization sizing and occupancy tests, Freddie Mac fixed-rate and lease-up sizing, the Federal Reserve's construction lending standards and the Wisconsin bank precedents

This model study applies the methodology described on MMCG's multifamily feasibility study page. MMCG prepares multifamily feasibility studies for bank construction, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD, USDA Section 538 and LIHTC lenders nationwide, with engagements from $4,900 and delivery in 9 to 16 business days.

Sources

  1. LoopNet, Waukesha, WI land for sale, Saylesville Rd at River Rd, 4.87 acres, accessed October 2026; LandBin, MLS 1935523, Saylesville Rd, Waukesha
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts, Waukesha city, Wisconsin and Waukesha County, Wisconsin, Vintage 2025 estimates and ACS 2020 to 2024
  3. BridgeWalk Apartments, floor plans and pricing, bridgewalkapartments.com, captured September 30, 2026; Mandel Group, 2022 news archive
  4. Alta Apartments, floor plans and pricing, alta-apartments.com, accessed October 2026
  5. Continental Properties, Springs at Meadowbrook groundbreaking and grand opening releases; Springs at Meadowbrook floor plans page
  6. The Village at Fox River, villageatfoxriver.com, modified September 15, 2026
  7. Wimmer Communities, Poplar Creek Town Center, WestTown, CrossTown and NorthBrook floor plan pages, accessed October 2026
  8. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, Comprehensive Housing Market Analysis, Milwaukee-Waukesha, Wisconsin, October 2025
  9. RealPage Analytics, August 2026 Data Update, September 3, 2026; May 2026 Data Update; 2nd Quarter 2026 Data Update
  10. Marcus and Millichap, Milwaukee Multifamily Market Report, 1Q 2026, and Expect a More Balanced Milwaukee Multifamily Market in 2026, as reported by REjournals
  11. Wisconsin Public Radio, Slow going for Milwaukee's new luxury high-rises, September 2, 2024; BizTimes, The Couture leasing update
  12. The Freeman, Waukesha Plan Commission OKs proposed Delafield Street apartments, October 2024
  13. The Daily Reporter, Waukesha OKs financing for 219-unit Mandel Group apartments, April 8, 2025, and Long-planned Waukesha apartment project still delayed, February 27, 2026
  14. Waukesha County, Moves to finalize sale of UW-Milwaukee at Waukesha campus, September 23, 2026, via WisBusiness; WTMJ, September 23, 2026; Spectrum News, September 25, 2026; Urban Milwaukee and Wisconsin Public Radio, January 2025
  15. City of Waukesha, Official Zoning Map, gis.waukesha-wi.gov
  16. Waukesha County Treasurer, 2025 property tax bill, 1512 Big Bend Road, Waukesha, tax.waukeshacounty.gov
  17. Fannie Mae, Multifamily Conventional Properties term sheet and Near-Stabilization Execution term sheet, 2026
  18. Freddie Mac, Optigo Fixed-Rate Loans term sheet, April 2026, and Lease-Up Loans term sheet, September 2025
  19. CBRE, Q2 2026 U.S. Capital Markets Report
  20. Federal Reserve Board, July 2026 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices; H.15 Selected Interest Rates, September 30, 2026; FRED, SOFR, September 29, 2026
  21. Multi-Housing News, Multifamily Construction Financing Plentiful, If You Know Where to Look, July 23, 2025
  22. Associated Bank, newsroom releases, October 15, 2024 and June 4, 2026
  23. Institute of Real Estate Management, Income/Expense IQ National Summary, 2024 data
  24. National Apartment Association, operating expense and Premium Pulse insurance series, 2025 and 2026
  25. Equity Residential, Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2025
  26. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Nareit REITweek investor presentation, Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K, June 2026
  27. Marshall & Swift CoreLogic, cost data, 2026

Request Feasibility Study Proposal

Contact MMCG Invest

Michal Mohelsky, J.D., Principal of MMCG Invest

Michal Mohelsky, J.D., FMVA

Principal in charge · MMCG Invest, LLC

Emailmichal@mmcginvest.com

Direct(628) 225-1110

Prefer to talk first?Book a 30-minute scoping call

Engagement Floor

From $4,900

Fixed-fee at proposal stage

Turnaround

9 to 16 business days

Rush from 5 business days available

San Francisco Office

27 Maiden Lane ยท Union Square
27 Maiden Lane, Suite 625
San Francisco CA 94108
Directions

Prefer a five-question quick start?Start a StudyFirst response within 12 business hours

Proposal Request

Tell us about the project.

12hSLA

MMCG never shares contact details with third parties.
Replies come from a senior analyst, not a sales team.