Madison Area Real Estate News

Wisconsin REALTORS® Association, 2013 August Home Sales Report,  September 23, 2013 Home sales and median prices both grew at a healthy pace in August, continuing the hot real estate market in Wisconsin, according to the most recent housing report from the Wisconsin REALTORS® Association (WRA). Existing home sales were up 13.7 percent in August compared to last August, closing out a very strong summer for home sales and 26 straight months of sales growth. Home prices showed similar strength with the median price rising 6.3 percent to $152,000 in August. Median prices have been up 17 of the last 18 months. "This has been a very strong summer for home sales, which is important for a state like Wisconsin where there are strong seasonal sales patterns," said Steve Lane, broker with First Weber Group REALTORS® in Stevens Point and the new Chairman of the WRA board of directors. He noted that in a typical year, about 42 percent of home sales in the state take place between

RIS Media, by Jack Guttentag,  September 4, 2013 It is easier to sell a house that is attractive to potential buyers, which means that you spend a little time and money on cosmetics. This is partly just a matter of making sure the house is clean, the yard is neat, the driveway is swept, bushes pruned and so on. Easily fixed structural defects, like a loose shingle, should be fixed. Houses almost always look better when furnished than when empty—and they also look larger. If you are moving to another residence and plan to take your furnishings with you, try to arrange to show the house before you move out of it. But if your house also has structural defects that are costly to fix, the challenge is in deciding whether or not to fix them before sale. Every house has defects, some obvious and others hidden. Both types will affect the price a buyer is willing to pay. It is a mistake to think that a potential buyer will assume that the only defects that exist are those that are visi

The months supply of single family homes and condominiums for sale in Dane County is down to 4.81 months –  6 months generally indicating a balanced market – and is down from 7.75 months of inventory last August. Source SCWMLS ( http://www.scwmls.com/ public/stats/ stat_search/ monthly_co... ) Elsewhere in the South Central Wisconsin real estate market, August sales met or exceeded last August’s sales in these counties: Columbia, Iowa, Rock and Sauk. Median sales price increased everywhere during August except in Iowa County.  Year to to date, median sale prices are up in all counties but Grant which is down 4%. South Central Wisconsin real estate remains very affordable. Of the almost 10,000 properties currently for sale, the price category with the most homes for sale – 1,096 – is $200,000-$249,999.  There are over 2,000 homes for sale priced below $100,000.  And, for those with more to spend, there are over 2,500 listings for sale in South Central Wisconsin priced at $250,000 and