Madison Wisconsin Real Estate News - Tips For Buyers

Madison WI home prices sink to new 5-year low

 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.

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Madison house prices: when is the best time to buy?

I wanted to share something with you in the event that you may still be on the fence about buying a home in Madison (or anywhere in Dane County). As we've seen over the past two weeks, the historically low rates that we've been witnessing are not going to last forever and, in fact, have already started rising. And while it is true that Madison house prices may continue to soften (although it must be pointed out that, overall, they have held up quite well), from a buying perspective there may never be a better time to buy a house in Madison and here's why:

But before I launch into an explanation of why now is such a good time to buy, please know that I am not trying to “talk you into” buying a home in Madison; on the contrary I'm assuming you're already…

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How Much Home Can You Afford?

Purchasing a new home is an exciting time in anyone's life. Still, before you take the leap into homeownership, it is important to have a clear idea of how much you can afford to pay for a home. After all, you don't want to pay so much for a home that you are unable to keep up with the payments. As such, it is essential for you to have a good idea of how much home you can afford before you start looking at available properties. One simple way to make this determination is to have a better understanding of the debt-to-income ratio and how it affects the loan process.

How Your Debt-to-Income Ratio Affects Your Loan

The first step toward determining how much how you can afford is to get a good idea of your debt-to-income ratio, which is the…

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How to Choose Your Madison WI Realtor

Are you interested in selling your Madison WI home? If you are ready to make a move, you are likely planning to hire a Realtor to help you with the process. After all, Realtors are experts in the industry and, as such, should be able to help you sell your home more quickly and efficiently. Before you hire a Realtor, however, it is important to know more about how to choose your Realtor.

Experience

While it is certainly possible for a Realtor with little experience to do a great job with selling your home, you are more likely than not to get the results you are looking for when you hire a Realtor with experience. In addition to asking about the Realtor's general experience in the industry, you should also ask about his or her experience selling in your…

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The Importance of Undertaking a Home Inspection

Buying a house is undoubtedly a major event in any individual’s life for those wanting to set up a home and is the ultimate goal of professionals and investors that are looking to create a portfolio. For all of these people, investing time and energy into creating the perfect home or property is entirely satisfying, especially if you are working hard to ensure that your venture into the real estate world is productive. However, it is important to ensure that you have all of the necessary bases covered, one of which is home inspection. Of all the considerations involved in purchasing property, home inspection is especially important in ensuring that you get the best value for money possible prior to finalizing your purchase.

Home inspection is an…

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Time Running Low on Tax Credit

Two days and counting until Tax Day! That means prospective homeowners better close the deal if they want to take advantage of the tax credit, which could return up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers and $6,500 to repeat buyers. Thankfully, qualified service members from the Armed Forces, intelligence community or The Foreign Service have an extra year to put this tax credit to use.

Homebuyers that meet one of those criteria and are on official extended duty, deadlines for the tax credit are extended. They have until April 30, 2011 to sign a binding sales contract that is closed by July 30, 2011.

Those considering home buying should seriously consider Wisconsin. Thanks to its mix of rural and urban areas, the state of Wisconsin has an attractive…

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HAFA: the new short sale panacea?

Today is the deadline for participating banks and mortgage servicing companies to implement the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program, otherwise known as HAFA. Starting today, the HAFA program may make a short sale (or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure) a much more viable option than ever before for homeowners who are "upside-down" on their homes. Will HAFA merely shine a ray of hope on the glut of short sale inventory or will it be a panacea for most short sales?

A short sale is a transaction in which the lender (or lenders) agree to accept less than the mortgage amount owed by the homeowner, thus potentially enabling a homeowner to avoid foreclosure. The HAFA Program, which takes effect today, April 5 2010, and sunsets on December 31st 2012,…

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There's No Better Time Than April to Buy a Home

For those who have been considering buying a house, the month of April is shaping up to be the best time to do it. In fact, those who purchase a home in April are poised to save thousands or possibly tens of thousands of dollars when compared to those who wait until May. Therefore, for anyone who has been thinking about purchasing a home, April is the month to make it happen.
 
There are many reasons to seriously consider purchasing a home in April, but perhaps the biggest is the Home Buyer Credit. For those who qualify, the program can provide up to $8,000 worth of tax credits. Although the program has been extended through the month of June, homebuyers need to sign a purchase contract by the end of April in order to receive the credit. Since most buyers…

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New! "Dog-friendly Condos" page

Are you a large dog lover who also happens to loves the condo lifestyle? Lake & City Homes Realty is pleased to announce the addition of it's new Dog-friendly Condos page located under the Popular Lifestyles section on our homepage. We originally wanted to name this page "Pet-friendly condos", but we discovered that it's much more difficult to locate condos whose associations permit large dogs than those who permit small pets only. So, to reiterate, our new pet-friendly condos page is reserved exclusively for Madison condos for sale whose associations permit large dogs (in addition, of course, to small dogs, cats, and other pets). We hope you'll find this page useful and a real time-saver!

For Madison condo statistics and condo availability, please…

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New "walkable" homes quicksearch added

Lake & City Homes is proud to announce the addition of its new Walkable Madison homes page. Now, in addition to being able to search by WalkScore, you can also instantly access a list of Madison homes for sale that are considered "highly walkable". What is a "highly walkable" home? Homes with a high degree of walkability are homes located in neighborhoods within close walking distance to businesses, shops, places of worship and dining. Although walkable homes are typically located in the older sections of cities, villages, and towns and may therefore have a smaller overall footprint, walkable homes are often more expensive to buy. A recent national study by CEOs for Cities states that walkable homes command a premium of anywhere between $4,000 and $34,000…

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