Madison area home prices continued to rise in November, and by all measures.  The price per square foot grew from $228 in November of 2023 to $243 in November of 2024, up 7 percent.  The average price grew from $496,203 to $519,471, an increase of 5 percent.  The median price grew from $430,000 to $469,000, a jump of 9 percent.  Stay tuned for the rest of our latest Dane County single family home update, coming real soon ..read more

It's usually more advantageous to price your home slightly below its true market value than it is to price your home well above what it's worth.  Many sellers are tempted to shoot for the moon in this market. But pricing too aggressively often results in an extended days on market, a lack of competition, and an offer that is well below the list.  Pricing slightly below market value, on the other hand, is a proven strategy for attracting multiple offers, with squeaky clean terms, and for prices that far exceed the list.  If you're planning to sell yo ..read more

Madison area home and condo listings quietly increased through the first 10 months of the year, but reversed course somewhat in the month of November. Our sense is some folks put their real estate plans on hold last month, due to uncertainty about the election.  As we recently noted in our 2025 real estate predictions, we do expect listing activity to pick up again on the other side of the holidays. Here are the numbers for Dane County homes and condos in the month of November.  November single family home listings A total of 252 Dane County homes were listed for sale in Novembe ..read more

We're excited for our clients Karen and Kurt, who just had their offer accepted for a condo in their preferred association. Karen and Kurt's condo search was a little unconventional.  We found the condo by researching listings that had recently expired without selling, and this one met all of their most important needs. So we reached out to the previous listing agent to see if he could arrange for a showing. The owner was open to a showing, and our offer was accepted without any bidding wars or competition.  As Kurt and Karen are picking out paint colors and getting ready for th ..read more

Shelley just listed this home on Madison's west side, and with tremendous results. The sellers received 6 offers in total and ended up settling on one that was squeaky clean and well above the list price.  This is just the latest example of the home-selling fundamentals at work. Beautiful staging, photography, and marketing -- along with sound pricing and negotiation -- deliver exceptional results any time of the year. Professionalism is always in season at Mad City Dream Homes ..read more

Competing offers have subsided from record-high levels, but they're still common in Dane County's fast-moving real estate market.  One way you can compete more effectively as a buyer is to write a "cash offer", or in other words an offer without a financing contingency. There are 2 key concepts to remember when you write your cash offer:  1) Once you cash offer is accepted, you can still choose to close with a mortgage if you wish. 2)  You do need to provide the seller documented "proof of funds" as part of your cash offer.  What are some common sources of funds that c ..read more

What does the future hold for Madison area real estate? Here's a quick review of our predictions for the year ahead.  1) Mortgage rates will decrease slightly. The Mortgage Bankers Association is predicting rates for 30-year fixed rate mortgages to hover between 6.4 and 6.6.  2) Demand for Madison area real estate will remain strong. We expect our strong local economy, our region's national reputation, and climate migration will continue to fuel Dane County's growing population in the year ahead.  3) New residential listings and sales will increase by 5 ..read more

Please reach out to us and let us know what projects you need help with. We'd love to put you in touch with our preferred contractors who do great work and for a fair price. Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season.  Your friends at Mad City Dream Homes ..read more

According to a recent article by the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission, Dane County added almost 10,000 residents in 2023, which once again made our county the fastest growing region in the state.  We expect our strong local economy, our region's national reputation, and climate migration to fuel much more population growth in the years ahead. The demand for housing will remain strong, and we'll need to continue to build more homes, condos, and apartments to accommodate our growing population.  ..read more

Foreclosure and short sale listings are uncommon occurrences in the Madison area, and continue to trend near historically low levels. As the chart below shows, a total of 214 Dane County foreclosures were filed through the first 10 months of 2024, compared to 1,475 through the first 10 months of 2010. In other words, foreclosure filings this year are down 85 from the peak.  We expect more of the same in 2025, which is just one more reason why we're predicting a competitive market in the year ahead.  ..read more