Waunakee Is Approving New Homes Mostly for Renters. Here's What's Actually Left to Buy.

Between June and September 2026, the Waunakee Village Board moved about 325 new housing units forward. Fifty of them are lots a buyer can own. The rest will be leased.

The 50 lots have a catch, too. They sit inside HeyDay's development at North Madison Street and Easy Street. When the board conditionally approved HeyDay's development agreement in September, it allowed construction to start but held back occupancy permits until property and right-of-way issues tied to a multi-use bike path are settled. So a house in Waunakee's newest single-family section can be built before anyone is allowed to live in it.

The 50 Lots Come With an Open Question About Move-In Dates

HeyDay's plan is 200 units: 114 single-story rental homes, 36 two-story rental townhomes and 50 single-family lots. The board unanimously approved the preliminary plat, general development plan and rezoning on June 15. On August 17 the Village Board approved the final plat 6-1 on three conditions. The village and developer had to sign a development agreement, the county had to approve the street names, and the plat had to be redrawn with a road wide enough for the bike path and easement.

That bike path explains the occupancy hold. HeyDay has committed to build a 10-foot-wide multi-use path along Easy Street and North Madison Street. In June, village staff said they were still working out parts of the agreement covering infrastructure that crosses into the Town of Westport. For a buyer looking at one of the 50 lots, that leftover paperwork affects their schedule. A construction timeline and a move-in date are two separate promises here. The second one depends on the right-of-way issues being resolved, which nobody controls on a set date.

The lots are also smaller than standard Waunakee lots. HeyDay's planned unit development follows the village's R-2 residential zoning, but it cuts the minimum lot area from 8,500 to 7,000 square feet and the minimum lot width from 70 to 57 feet. Three public streets, Piper Place, Charlotte Avenue and Jordan Avenue, will connect the single-family lots to Easy and North Madison Streets. Five private roads will serve the rental homes. The plan also includes a 0.59-acre pocket park inside the single-family section and a wetland set aside for conservation at the southwest corner of the site.

The Rest of the Pipeline Is Leasing

Apart from those 50 lots, Waunakee's 2026 approvals produce rental units. Here is the full count:

• HeyDay, North Madison Street and Easy Street: 114 single-story rental homes and 36 rental townhomes, served by private roads and a private trail for renters.
• The Crest, Forward Development Group: a 75-unit apartment building that was under construction in July and expected to start leasing later that summer. The Crest's leasing page now advertises a brand-new building with units available and an October 2026 move-in calendar.
• Woodland Crest stacked flats: five two-story buildings with 50 one- and two-bedroom rental units on the east side of Simon Crestway, north of Peaceful Valley Parkway. This is phase three of The Crest. The board approved the development agreement on July 20, the last step before Forward could apply for building permits.

That adds up to 275 rental units and 50 ownable lots. Trustees described HeyDay as a way to diversify Waunakee's housing, and the mix does add types of homes the village has had little of, such as single-story rental homes. For a buyer, though, none of these 275 units will ever appear in the for-sale inventory. Headlines about hundreds of new Waunakee homes describe a growing rental market. They don't describe more choice for buyers.

Where Buyers Actually Land

For-sale new construction in Waunakee is concentrated in three subdivisions, and their price points are far apart. Here is what builders and developers were posting as of September 2026:

Heritage Hills has the most available. Veridian's Phase 9 added 46 homesites, 38 for single-family homes and eight for Haven twin homes, with prices released on August 20, 2026. Veridian's Waunakee homesite page currently lists 28 Heritage Hills homesites. Arboretum Village and Kilkenny Farms West both advertise available homesites, but neither developer's page gives a current lot count or lot prices.

The gap is the useful part of this table. Among the new homes posted in September, nothing falls between Heritage Hills' top inventory price of $499,900 and the $678,000 Arboretum Village condos. A buyer whose budget sits in that range, wanting new construction in Waunakee, has three choices. They can build up in Heritage Hills, stretch to Arboretum Village, or look at resale homes. HeyDay's 50 smaller lots could eventually fill part of that range, but no pricing for them has been published, and their move-in timing depends on the occupancy hold.

How That Price Range Compares to the County Median

The South Central Wisconsin MLS report for August 2026 puts the Dane County median sale price for single-family homes and condos at $475,000, up from $455,000 in August 2025. Months' supply of inventory was 2.2 in both years. Active listings rose to 1,214 from 1,175, and sales rose to 647 from 625. Those are countywide figures. The August report breaks out Dane County and the wider region, but it doesn't publish a separate Waunakee median.

Compared with that $475,000 median, Heritage Hills is the only new construction in Waunakee priced near the county midpoint. Supply stayed at 2.2 months year over year, which suggests the for-sale market across the county is still tight. Waunakee's rental approvals don't change that, because rentals never become for-sale listings. A buyer who wants a new Waunakee home near the county median is competing mostly for Heritage Hills homesites and move-in-ready homes, and that is a short list.

A Cost on the November Ballot

One more number belongs in any Waunakee budget this fall. The Waunakee Community School District has two referendum questions on the November 3, 2026 ballot. The operational question is recurring and phases in starting with the 2027–28 school year. The capital question would authorize up to $97.5 million in bonds. If both pass, the district estimates about $17 per $100,000 of fair market value per year for the operational question and about $25 for the capital question, about $42 combined. On a $500,000 home, that is about $210 a year.

This is a possible cost, not a tax increase already in place. Applied to the price range above, the district's per-$100,000 estimate works out to about $164 a year at the $390,000 twin-home starting price, about $285 for a $678,000 Arboretum Village condo and about $565 at the $1,345,000 Kilkenny Farms West build. These are rough estimates based on the district's published rate, not a tax calculation. For anything firmer, ask a tax professional and check the district's referendum page once results are certified.

Quick Answers

Can I buy one of HeyDay's single-story homes? As approved, the 114 single-story homes and 36 townhomes are rentals served by private roads. The 50 single-family lots on Piper Place, Charlotte Avenue and Jordan Avenue are the for-sale portion of the project.

Will the builder prices above still apply when I shop? Treat them as a September 2026 snapshot. Veridian says phase dates and homesite counts can change, and Stonehaven notes that availability and prices can change.

Has the HeyDay development agreement been signed? Public reporting shows the board conditionally approved it around its September 8 meeting. We haven't found an official record confirming the signed agreement or the start of construction.

If you want to buy new construction in Waunakee, the questions that matter are when you can move in and where your budget sits against a short list of options. Kristine Jaeger and the Madison Real Estate Team follow Heritage Hills phase releases, Arboretum Village and Kilkenny Farms West inventory, and HeyDay's occupancy conditions so you can compare actual options. Book a free neighborhood consultation and bring your price range.