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        <title>Lake &amp; City Views</title>
        <link>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/dane-county-mls-statistics/</link>
        <description>Madison WI real estate news, opinions, &amp; MLS statistics. Read about featured Madison WI homes for sale, the overall Madison real estate market, mortgage news, &amp; local real estate events.</description>
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            <guid>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/new-madison-market-snapshots-now-available.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/new-madison-market-snapshots-now-available.html</link>
            <author>jolenta@lakeandcityhomes.com (Jolenta Averill)</author>
            <title>NEW! Madison Market Snapshots Now Available</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
In case you missed it, this week we announced on Lake &amp; City Homes Facebook Fan Page our new Market Snapshot reports. What's a market snapshot? It's a personalized report that charts current up-to-the-minute market activity about homes in your neighborhood (or any area you specify within a 3-5 mile radius of a given property address). The report includes data such as sold homes and condos, homes and condos currently for sale, inventory counts and even days-on-market. These reports are a fantastic resource if you've been asking yourself any of these burning questions: 


How do my neighborhood's home values stack up?

What are homes worth in my target area? 

What's my current home worth? 

Is now a good time to sell?

Has the market stabilized? 


To get started, visit our new Market Snapshot page and fill out the short form. You'll receive your first report a few minutes later. Then you can decide whether you want to receive future reports on a monthly or bi-weekly basis. Remember though that there are many intangibles behind real estate data such as this, for example whether homes 
that sold were fixed up or not, whether they had any special amenities, whether they were distressed sales, whether special financing was obtained, whether seller credits were granted at closing, etc. So, whenever you have questions about the data in your Market Snaphot, don't forget that I have the 
local market expertise to help you fully interpret this information.

Questions? Give us a call at (563) BUY-SOLD.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Sat, 12 Feb 2011 15:05:14 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/madison-wi-home-prices-sink-to-new-5-year-low.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/madison-wi-home-prices-sink-to-new-5-year-low.html</link>
            <author>jolenta@lakeandcityhomes.com (Jolenta Averill)</author>
            <title>Madison WI home prices sink to new 5-year low</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 


&nbsp;According to the SCWMLS (South Central Wisconsin Multiple Listing Service), in October 2010 the average sale price for single family homes sold in Madison Wisconsin fell to a new 5-year low of $219,014 for the month of October, just barely above the 2010 low of $217,874 which occurred in April 2010. November average price data will be out shortly and we'll keep you updated on whether this trend continues, slows, or changes direction.



For five year charts showing Madison WI single family home sales, as well as average days on market (average DOM), please visit our New! Madison real estate statistics page.

Later in the week we'll also have some updated MLS statistics for the Madison WI condo market. 
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Mon, 06 Dec 2010 17:45:05 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/sales-of-madison-wi-homes-tank-to-new-5-year-low.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/sales-of-madison-wi-homes-tank-to-new-5-year-low.html</link>
            <author>jolenta@lakeandcityhomes.com (Jolenta Averill)</author>
            <title>Sales of Madison WI homes tank to new 5-year low</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
These seemingly pretty flowers (or perhaps margarita glasses, as my son pointed out!) are actually huge water tanks. Sady, they remind me that, despite the typical seasonal slowdown for this time of year, sales of single family homes in Madison Wisconsin virtually tanked last month. 

In October 2010, the number of units of Madison single family homes sold fell to a new 5-year low for the month of October. Only 84 units made it to closing. The average price was $219,014 and it took an average of 78 days for these properties to go to closing. &nbsp; 

Please check out the chart below which puts the sales slowdown for single family homes into historical perspective. You can see charts for average prices and average DOM (Days On Market) for Madison single family homes on our new Madison real estate statistics page. 

Bear in mind that some of this slowdown is inevitable, even normal, for this time of year, however the slowdown in sales of Madison homes has been exacerbated by the uncertainty surrounding the economy and the speed of the recovery.



What does it take to sell in a down market? For one thing, an in-depth understanding of how to position and market your home to a much smaller audience than we're used to seeing historically. To learn more and obtain a free market analysis of your home, please call (563) BUY-SOLD.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 01 Dec 2010 10:33:55 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/dane-county-market-update.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/dane-county-market-update.html</link>
            <author>jolenta@lakeandcityhomes.com (Jolenta Averill)</author>
            <title>Dane County Market Update</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Given our frequent focus on the Madison market, we thought an update about the overall market for real estate in Dane County was in order. So we put together the market snapshot below showing the performance of the Dane County real estate market in each category of sales for October 2010. 

As you can see, October sales in Dane County compared favorably to that of, well, molasses. As you can see, no more than approximately 5% of any category of available real estate inventory sold during the month of October. Moreover, sales of the two biggest categories, single family homes and condos, were down over 50% and 70% respectively from last October. Prices held firm for condos and multi-family homes and even increased 10% for single family homes, however average DOM (Days on Market) deteriored by between 20% and 70% for single family homes and condos, respectively. In the case of commercial property, DOM increased by a whopping 260% to 481 days. That's a long time to sell any piece of real estate, let alone one associated with a commercial opportunity. To see the MLS data for Dane County single homes and condos charted against the last five years of data, visit Dane County real estate stats and Dane County condo stats. 



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Why is the market so slow in Dane County? A sub-prime credit crunch, record foreclosures, frustrated investors, and highly leveraged new home contractors have all come together to form the perfect storm. As a result, it's creating unprecedented market uncertainty. If you're looking for a great time to buy while benefitting from historically low interest rates, now is your time. At Lake &amp; City Homes we don't just service Madison, we service all of Dane County and beyond. Give us a call at (563) BUY-SOLD today to discuss your requirements and get started. 

For more Dane County real estate statistics, including historical charts, visit our Dane County real estate statistics page.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 30 Nov 2010 21:05:04 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/madison-ranks-3rd-best-city-for-families.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/madison-ranks-3rd-best-city-for-families.html</link>
            <author>jolenta@lakeandcityhomes.com (Jolenta Averill)</author>
            <title>Madison Ranks 3rd Best City For Families</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Parenting magazine just released a list of the top places to raise a family and Madison Wisconsin snagged third. 

According to Parenting magazine, Madison Wisconsin is the third best city in the country for families.Here are the results of the cities that made it into the top 10:

1. Arlington, VA2. Austin, TX3. Madison, WI4. Ann Arbor, MI5. Lexington, KY6. Portland, OR7. Spokane, WA8. Scottsdale, AZ9. Omaha, NE10. Raleigh, NC

How did Parenting magazine determine the top 10? They surveyed mothers nationwide to determine the factors Mom consider to be most important when deciding where to make a home. Then they compiled a list of the top 100 cities by population according to the U.S. Census. Over 5,000 data points were gathered in 52 different categories in order to devise rankings for categories such as economy, education, health, safety, and recreation. The findings were averaged and then weighted with the most weight being given to education, economy, and safety. The best overall scores were then determined.

California cities were at the bottom of the list, presumably due to the median price of a home which is still sky-high at almost $700K. Austin, Texas, a favorite comparison to Madison, came in second. Portland, Oregon ranked 6th with a median sales price of $252,600. Madison, Wisconsin ranked third with a median sale price at just $107,000. Yes, believe it or not, you can still buy a starter home in Madison Wisconsin for right around $100K. In fact, as of 6/18/10 there were 14 homes for sale in Madison priced under $100,000.

How do you feel about Madison's third place ranking? Which neighborhoods and nearby Madison communities do you think are best for kids?
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:05:01 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/wisconsin-still-faring-better-than-the-rest-of-the-country-in-terms-of-foreclosure-rates.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/wisconsin-still-faring-better-than-the-rest-of-the-country-in-terms-of-foreclosure-rates.html</link>
            <author>jolenta@lakeandcityhomes.com (Jolenta Averill)</author>
            <title>Wisconsin Still Faring Better Than the Rest of the Country in Terms of Foreclosure Rates</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 









 

Foreclosure rates have been receiving a significant amount of attention over the past couple of years, and for good reason. After all, the rate of foreclosure is a good indicator of the overall health of the economy on a national level as well as on a local level. Therefore, for those who live in Dane County and Madison, Wisconsin, taking a closer look at foreclosure rates is of great importance -- even to those who are not directly involved in the real estate market, since the condition of the economy is something that affects everyone throughout Dane County and the state of Wisconsin.

According to RealtyTrac, 1 in every 180 housing units in Dane County, Wisconsin received a foreclosure filing in April 2010. Taking into account that the foreclosure rate is considered to be &ldquo;high&rdquo; when one in of every 106 housing units is in foreclosure and to be &ldquo;low&rdquo; when one in every 2,305 homes is in foreclosure, this figure still falls well within the high end of the scale. Things look quite a bit better in Madison, however, where only one in every 984 housing units were in foreclosure.

When looking at the pre-foreclosure data for Dane County over the past six months, the figures have held relatively steady. Unfortunately for homeowners in Dane County, however, the trend of the pre-foreclosure rate is on the upswing. In November 2009, 128 homes were in pre-foreclosure, while 137 homes were in pre-foreclosure in April 2010. The number of homes that went to auction went down slightly during this same time period, with 85 homes going to auction in November of 2009 and 87 homes going to auction in April 2010. During this same time period, the rate of REO (Real Estate Owned or bank-owned) properties also went down slightly from 56 in November 2009 to 55 in April 2010.

Despite the seemingly bad news, foreclosure rates for Dane County actually look much better than the rest of the state as well as the rest of the nation. In fact, the national foreclosure rate is currently sitting at 0.26%, while the statewide foreclosure rate for Wisconsin is 0.17% and the foreclosure rate in Dane County comes in at 0.13%.

What's the bottom line? Put simply, the country as a whole is still working its way out of a deep recession. As such, many homeowners are still experiencing problems keeping their homes out of foreclosure. In the state of Wisconsin, however, and particularly in Dane County and Madison, homeowners are faring far better than the rest of the country and are poised to bounce back far more quickly than many markets throughout the country.

For more Madison housing market statistics and MLS sales data, please visit Lake &amp; City Homes Realty's Madison real estate sales page. 
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Fri, 21 May 2010 08:18:08 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/madison-market-update.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/madison-market-update.html</link>
            <author>jolenta@lakeandcityhomes.com (Jolenta Averill)</author>
            <title>Madison Market Update - NEW!</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
I'm pleased to announce that after two weeks of enduring a steep learning curve for video editing, a variety of technical issues and glitches, and a fair degree of performance anxiety, I'm finally ready to kick off our new monthly housing update! It's dubbed The Madison Market Update because it's focused on the residential Madison WI real estate market. 

In today's premier edition of the Madison Market Update you'll find highlights of the Madison housing market year-to-date with comparisons to last year using measures such as sales volume, average prices, average days on market and more. The Madison Market Update  will be updated monthly and you'll have access to all the charts and graphs discussed in each edition via our Madison Market Statistics page and related market data pages (e.g. our Madison Condo Statistics page). 

So, without further ado, please enjoy our first video blog post and whatever you do, don't forget to comment. We want to know what you think about the Madison WI housing market and how you like our new format! 

 

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To speak to a licensed Realtor specializing in Madison area real estate, please visit www.lakeandcityhomes.com or call broker|owner Jolenta Averill at 608.628.9701 today!
 
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            <pubDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:40:47 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/tax-credit-update.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/tax-credit-update.html</link>
            <author>jolenta@lakeandcityhomes.com (Jolenta Averill)</author>
            <title>Tax credit update</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 

It's official! President Obama signed a bill on 11/6/09 extending the $8K tax credit for first-time home buyers and offering a new credit of up to $6,500 for some existing homeowners. Please see our Tax Credit Overview to find out what it means to you. 

This week the Senate reached a tentative deal to extend the $8K tax creditfor first-time home buyers which expires November 30th, 2009. It will be votedon in a cloture vote (ie it has been added to a bill currently on the Senatefloor to extend federal unemployment insurance benefits) which is scheduled forMonday, November 2nd at 5pm. Its passage remains uncertain. 

Theagreement would extend the existing credit for first-time home buyers, worth upto $8,000, while offering a new credit of up to $6,500 for some existinghomeowners. The reduced credit would be available to all home buyers who havebeen in their current residence for a consecutive five-year period in the pasteight years, the idea being to keep home sales from slipping as the economy recoversfrom the worst decline in home prices since the Great Depression. 

The demandfor new homes and condominiums by step-up buyers is expected to increase dramatically.Estimates by Height Analytics, a research firm in Washington, are that demand wouldincrease by more than two times as step-up buyers are let into the equation.&#8232;&#8232;The new provisions are aimed at broadening availability of the credit beyondfirst-time buyers and giving the weakened real-estate market a bigger boostwhile preventing real-estate investors from benefiting. Many property expertshave cited the credit as a reason for signs of recovery in the housing marketin recent months. But that recovery was somewhat undercut by the September dropin new-home sales reported Wednesday. 

The credit would be extended from itscurrent expiration date of November 30th, 2009 to all contractsentered into by April 30, 2010 and closed before July 1st, 2010. Itis expected that income limits on people claiming the credit would be increasedto $125,000 for singles and $250,000 for couples, from the current $75,000 and$150,000. The credit phases out for people making more than those amounts. 
 
The $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit is set to end soon! While it's clear that the housing marketis stabilizing and improving, the crisis is not expected to end thisyear.&nbsp;If you agree that the credit should be extended and expanded, pleasemake a quick call to your Senator's office&nbsp;to ask for cloture on theUnemployment Insurance Extension bill that contains the tax credit provision.This cloture vote is scheduled for Monday, November 2nd at5pm.&nbsp;Sixty Senators must vote yes so that a vote can be scheduled on thetax credit.

For more information about working with an experienced, dedicated Realtor for your Madison area home or condo purchase, please call Lake &amp; City Homes Realty broker | owner  Jolenta Averill at (563) BUY-SOLD. Jolenta is an experienced agent who knows the area and whose top-ranked website includes the very latest buyer and seller tools available anywhere on the Internet. 
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            <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:58:48 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/radon-to-test-or-not-to-test.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/radon-to-test-or-not-to-test.html</link>
            <author>jolenta@lakeandcityhomes.com (Jolenta Averill)</author>
            <title>Radon: to test or not to test</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
That is the question! 

Some homeowners do the laundry in the basement, some have finished basements with offices or playrooms for the kids, others have a Master bedroom suite or a guest room in their finished lower level. But over the years I've had dozens of clients buy or sell homes without testing for radon gas. One of my clients, who was concerned about radon because she had small children, had gone to the trouble of testing for radon twice in two homes she purchased during the last 10 years. She then tested a third time when she bought the home that she is now in the process of selling on Madison's West Side. 

The test had been negative for radon gas when she and her husband purchased the home years ago, so when they received an offer recently that included radon testing, they weren't the least bit concerned. But when the test came back in excess of the EPA standard (4pCi/L), they were stunned. How could such a thing happen? After all, the test they did when they bought the home revealed only trace levels of radon. What caused the change? 

While I'm not a radon expert nor a home inspector, newer homes do tend
to have radon more often due to the disturbance of the soil, whereas
older homes don't normally have those kinds of disturbances unless
major remodeling is done that affects the foundation. That was the case
in this particular home. The homeowners had put in a Master suite in the lower level when their newborn (now 3 years old) came along which involved jack-hammering the cement foundation and
disturbing the concrete and soil underneath. Since baby and mother had slept there every night with the door closed, Mom was naturally concerned about tests that showed unacceptably high levels of radon. She worried what that meant over the long term for her and her baby's health. Furthermore, she wondered how the EPA had established an &quot;acceptable&quot; level and whether recent remodeling could have released gases into the home in otherwise settled soil. So they decided to have their own  test done to ensure that placing a radon mitigation system in the home was indeed necessary. They braced themselves though, expecting the same results as before.&nbsp; 

To the surprise and considerable relief of the homeowners, no radon was detected in the retest. You see, radon is a tricky thing. Everything affects
it. Atmospheric pressure affects it, weather affects it (including
heavy rain and wind) - basically any change in temperature such as a
storm front, humidity levels, or any disruption in the
immediate area of testing such as recent remodeling. The timeline for the first test had been 48 hours, and during more than 24 hours of that time, Madison was hit with torrential rains. It turned out to be the 8th wettest day in recorded history in Dane County, with 3.6&quot; of rainfall occuring in a single day! Turns out that when soil is that saturated with water there's no room for the radon gas to dissapate, so it rises up out of the soil and into the air. It kept raining over the weekend that their second test was launched and the starting levels were even higher than the acceptable limit. But then another front came through, with cold and wind, and the levels dropped exceptionally fast to average out well below the acceptable level of 4pCi/L (the average annual amount a person may absorb during a lifetime). This test was run over a total of just over three days, instead of the 48 hours, but boy what a difference a day made!Bottom line: if you're going to invest in radon testing, consider testing for more than 48 hours. Even better, if you've got time on your side, do what's known as an &quot;alpha track&quot; radon test. That's a longer term test, usually six months in duration. An alpha test  will cover all kinds of different weather patterns and conditions and will enable you to avoid relying on  a superficial 48-hour test. It's no secret the real estate industry lobbied hard to get the radon testing timeline squished down to 48 hours for the purpose of buying and selling real estate (longer term tests just aren't practical for most transactions), even though many radon experts admit that  testing for a minimum of 90 days is needed to  conclude the presence of radon gas and the need to put in a radon mitigation system.So if you're thinking of listing your home in a few months, say, next Spring, consider doing an inexpensive alpha track radon test. If prospective buyers test for radon because you didn't, they'll be using a relatively unreliable 48 hour test that may produce inaccurate results. If you've got time on your side and can rule out radon in your home for a mere $30-$40, buyers may not bother with a superficial 48 hour radon test. And if you do discover you have high radon, you can either disclose it or put in a system to mitigate against it, depending on how your basement is used. You'll save money, get more accurate results, and most importantly, you'll know for sure whether you have radon gas in your home or not. Sure beats wondering if the weather caused a bad result and you just paid for a totally unnecessary upgrade just to close the deal.&nbsp; 

Good luck with your testing!
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            <pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:44:04 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/outdoor-hot-tubs-love-them-or-hate-them.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.lakeandcityhomes.com/blog/outdoor-hot-tubs-love-them-or-hate-them.html</link>
            <author>jolenta@lakeandcityhomes.com (Jolenta Averill)</author>
            <title>Outdoor hot tubs - love them or hate them?</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
A
client recently posed this question, &quot;Do you think if we got rid of the
hot tub it would help?&quot; Translation: Would getting rid of our hot tub
make our property more attractive to buyers? 

The
client suggested she freecycle the hot tub. In fact, she thought she'd
have no problem getting rid of it by the weekend. I don't know a lot
about hot tubs (I've never owned one) but I wondered how she'd get rid
of it so quickly if it was so undesirable. Afterall, it was already Thursday when she made the suggestion.
Then again, that hot tub (see photo) wasn't looking so hot. It actually
made her newly refinished deck look a little shabby. Then she mused, &quot;I
don't think anyone even wants a hot tub anymore. It costs a fortune to
keep it running in the winter and what's the point of having one in the
summer? On the other hand, if it would help to repair it and get it up
and running, we could do that too.&quot; 

So
in puzzling that over we couldn't help but think the hot tub looked
pretty darn uninviting. We even thought about staging the area to look
romantic but somehow neither one of us was convinced that getting naked
in front of the neighbors (albeit without them knowing) while they
relaxed on the deck in their back yard was all that compelling an idea.
In fact, it seemed a laughably bad one.&nbsp; 
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My client went on to explain that, with kids, having a hot tub is
actually a huge turn-off since it's arguably a safety hazard. Kids can
accidentally get in there if it's not locked, the lid quickly shuts,
and disaster strikes. Kids are naturally curious and busy adults can
easily forget to lock a hot tub. Maybe having to lock a hot tub is just one
more way to complicate one's life? And finally, what
are you supposed to put in place of the hot tub once it's been
removed? I mean, won't there be an ugly indentation on a deck that once
held a hot tub? So if we do decide to remove it, we're hoping the area beneath
the hot tub is level and even rather than sunken in. As far as the
electrical hookups go, that's another potential eyesore but at least
the hookups will be there if anyone wants a hot tub in the
future. 

I
gotta admit, in six years I've never had a buyer get excited about a
hot tub being included in the sale. The usual comment is &quot;I wonder if
they can remove that prior to closing&quot; followed closely by &quot;I wonder what that thing did to the deck - I bet we'll have to redo it&quot;. In only one case
have I ever seen a buyer excited about the prospect of a house already
having a spot for his hot tub (i.e. a concrete pad or separate area of
the deck dedicated to a hot tub). And in that case, the buyer was so
wedded to his own hot tub that he didn't even want the one included in the sale! 

So what do you think about outdoor hot tubs? Are they a selling point or a major turnoff? Are they worth the higher utility bills or nothing more than a maintenance headache? If
you remove one, what do you put in its place? One thing's for sure: remove it and you'll have to strip and re-finish the decking (or expect negative feedback from prospective buyers). In
your opinion, is it preferable to leave the hot tub in place and hope
the next owners are fans or willing to get rid of it - or is it better to have the hot tub removed and not include it in
the sale?

Please log your comments below. We want to hear what you think!

In today's super competitive real estate market, you need marketing
expertise that includes the power and reach of the Internet in addition
to more traditional forms of real estate marketing. Lake &amp; City
Homes gives you the strategic advantage you need to net top dollar now.
Contact us today at (608) 230.5553 to learn how our comprehensive
marketing plan gives you the upper hand regardless of market conditions. Or, fill out a request for a free  market analysis of your home. There's no obligation.

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            <pubDate>Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:52:54 -0500</pubDate>
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