Madison WI has been ranked #2 behind Wichita, Kansas in a list by Newsmax magazine of "Most Uniquely American Cities & Towns". This is the 129th such award won by Madison since 1994.

Newsmax magazine commissioned Peter Greenberg, author and NBC's "Today Show" travel editor, to compile the list. He reviewed 25 cities and rated them  using the following criteria (Madison's scores appear in parentheses):

  1. Hospitality (8 out of 10)
  2. Wholesomeness (8)
  3. Family-Friendliness (8)
  4. Business-Friendliness (9)
  5. Devotion to Religion (7)
  6. Culture (6)
  7. Community Activities (7)
  8. Scenic Beauty (9)
  9. Education (7)

The only other Wisconsin city on the list was Milwaukee, at No. 11.

"One of America’s most attractive cities," the magazine said,…

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3D aerial viewsLake & City Homes is proud to announce the introduction of 3D aerial views to its mapped results on LakeandCityhomes.com.

As much as we love Google and their mapping technology, there are other platforms that offer great tools not yet available through Google Mapping such as Microsoft's "Birds Eye View". Looking at a property from a bird's vantage point (i.e. from high up in the air) is a great way to get additional information about how a specific neighborhood is laid out, where parks, waterways, and open areas are situated in relation to specific properties, and even what neighboring homes and yards look like - all without leaving the comfort of your office. In addition, Microsoft Bird's Eye View offers multiple modes for 2D, 3D, map, and satellite…

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Although there are hundreds of miles between them, you may be surprised to learn that there are many similarities to be found between Austin, Texas and Madison, Wisconsin.  Aside from the fact that both cities hold the distinction of being the capital of their state, both cities are also centers of education within their states, both have a solid standing in the arts, and both enjoy an economy that is strongly rooted in technology.  With so much to offer to their residents, it is no surprise that Madison and Austin are among two of the most desirable cities in the country to live.

Getting Educated in Madison and Austin

Ranked by Forbes magazine in the #2 position of top education cities in the nation, Madison has much to offer to its residents in…

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Home sales in Dane County were down 20% in March compared to March 2008, according to sales figures released today by the South Central Wisconsin Multiple Listing Service.

Sales data show that 320 homes and condos were sold in Dane County in March, compared to 403 sold in March of 2008 and 552 sold in March of 2007.

For the first quarter of 2009, 684 homes were sold in Dane County, a 25% drop from the 921 homes sold the first three months of 2008 and 45% below the January-March sales of 1,244 homes in 2007.

The average sale price of a Dane County home in March dropped more than $29K, or 12%, from $243,368 to $214,049.

The median sale price also fell in March, going down $13,500, or 6.4 percent, from $210K to $196,500.

The number of new listings in…

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To my growing community of visitors and regular readers out there:

Here's wishing you a very Happy Easter and a Happy Palm Sunday to the Greek, Russian and Armenian Orthodox! It looks like it's going to be a beautifully sunny day in Madison WI for an Easter egg hunt...

After nearly three months of being live, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Real Estate Webmasters (my web designers) and to wish them a very Happy 5th Birthday. Your support and guidance have been invaluable in getting my new venture off the ground and climbing the Web 3.0 learning curve. May the next five years bring you as much, if not even greater, success!

As always, many heartfelt thanks to all my clients, friends, and visitors out there who are reading this.…

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I thought it might be interesting to take a quick look at how the housing market for Dane County in January and February of 2009 stacked up against the same months in 2008 by pulling some data from the South Central Wisconsin MLS. After all, it's important to examine at the facts when we're hearing so much bad news about the economy and the housing market day in and day out. As the old saying goes, all real estate markets are local - so we really need to be focused on data specific to our local market in order to understand what's really going on.

Here's how the numbers stacked up for Dane County (all data, unless otherwise specified, includes single-family homes and condominiums)*:

Jan 2009 vs Jan 2008 - Dane County

The number of listings…

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