Madison Wisconsin Real Estate News - Tips For Buyers

Avoiding aggregators to get the freshest real estate listings

Recently I was contacted by one of my site visitors about a property they saw for sale in Middleton Hills on Trulia.com. The person was asking why they couldn't locate that listing on my website. After looking up the MLS number, I quickly discovered the property was no longer for sale. I thought I'd share with you my reply in case there is still anyone out there who feels compelled to search for real estate on listing aggregators such as Trulia and Zillow:

"Thanks for the Trulia link to MLS #1543347 (6933 Ramsey Rd) last night. Below is a link to the MLS sheet for this property:

Click Here to View Listings

As you can see, the current status for this property is actually "Pending". That means that all contingencies (subject to sale, financing, inspection,…

36190 Views, 16 Comments

The 2010 rate picture

An unpleasant scenario is starting to emerge regarding the mortgage rate picture for 2010. All my lender friends are telling me that the Fed is going to be winding down their purchase of mortgage-backed securities and will be all finished with the buying by the end of March 2010. Ouch. The experts don't see the Fed extending their buying spree so, although we aren't exactly sure what that's going to mean for mortgage rates, logic would seem to dictate that when you suddenly get dramatically decreased demand prices will have to drop in order for supply and demand to get back into equilibrium. As you may know, when it comes to mortgage-backed securities rates and prices move in opposite directions. So when demand for mortgage-backed securities diminishes and…

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FHA to demand more of borrowers

Things are about to get harder for first-time home buyers who have their sights set on an FHA (Federal Housing Authority) home mortgage. Borrowers will soon be required to have "more skin in the game", according to Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan. Donovan is scheduled to announce the following FHA policy changes when he testifies next Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee:

1. increase up-front cash paid by FHA borrowers from the current 3.5% (one lawmaker is proposing 5%)
2. raise the minimum credit scores for borrowers who receive FHA-backed mortgages to protect the FHA from the riskiest borrowers (the current minimum credit score requirement is a mere 500 out of 850)
3. limit the amount of money sellers can kick in…

2494 Views, 2 Comments

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

You may or may not like the song or even the band (seriously though, who doesn't like R.E.M.?), but we're sure you're gonna love our new MLS data feed!

Starting today, instead of new property listings hitting our site every 24 hours, they're going to hit our site every three hours. That's right, LakeandCityHomes.com now receives data (new listings, photos, price updates, etc) from the South Central WI MLS every three hours rather than once a day! How do you like that frequency?!

Why is that important, you might be asking yourself? Simply put, if you're looking to buy a property in a popular neighborhood or sought-after area, you're going to have some stiff competition, even in a buyer's market. But now that the listings on our website are updated…

2799 Views, 1 Comments

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from Lake & City Homes Realty! Check out this amazing pumpkin carving website and choose your favorite from the pumpkin carving gallery. Then comment on anything you see in my blog (including this post) and you'll be eligible to win a $10 sign-up promo code from Alice.com (no affiliation). The drawing will take place at Lake & City Homes Realty on Friday, November 6th, 2009.

When I realized that the creator of these amazing pumpkin carvings, Scott Cummins, only spends 1-2 hours on each carving, I was inspired to figure out how I too might start working smarter, not harder! So, whether you're buying or selling, here's some tips (as opposed to dirty tricks!) for working smarter in today's real estate market to get the kind of results you…

2729 Views, 3 Comments

Lake and City Homes adds area demographics

Lake and City Homes Realty is proud to announce the addition of demographics to its flagship Madison WI real estate website! Three new batches of neighborhood-specific information now appears under a new tab, "Get Local", conveniently located on all our Property Details pages. As a result, we think our Madison real estate site truely qualifies as a one-stop shopping destination for those interested in buying Madison area real estate!

As you can see in the screenshot to the right, our new Get Local tab has three distinct information groupings:

1. Nearby Amenities
2. Nearby Schools
3. Neighborhood Information

Under the Nearby Amenities tab, the names of businesses are shown along with the relevant business category and approximate distances from the subject…

3291 Views, 9 Comments

More privacy please!

We've all been there. Whether it's sharing an apartment with a total slob, enduring your upstairs neighbor's cowboy boots (don't you just love hardwood floors?), or the sheer awkwardness of still living at Mom & Dad's, there comes a time in life when you really, truly need your own space. So to encourage all you first-time homebuyers out there to get cracking on that $8K tax credit before it expires November 30th, here's a comedic take on that annoying roommate of your's.

To get started on the path to home ownership and take advantage of the first-time homebuyer's $8K tax credit by November 30th, please call Lake & City Homes broker/owner Jolenta Averill at 608.230.5553 today. It's late in the game but if you act fast, you can still get in …

2699 Views, 0 Comments

Lake & City Homes adds Microsoft’s Bird’s Eye View

Lake & City Homes is proud to announce (albeit belatedly) that we've added some wonderful new functionality to our Property Details page: Microsoft Bird's Eye View. Microsoft Birds Eye View is a terrific tool that provides an aerial (or "bird's eye") view of any property for sale in the South Central WI MLS. Take my newest listing located at 5209 Burnett Drive in Madison, for example. Microsoft Bird's Eye View shows you where properties are situated in relation to each other, in relation to streets and avenues, and gives you an aerial overview of the density of trees and other greenery in any given area. You also have the ability to zoom in and out.

Microsoft Bird's Eye View is an especially good tool for looking at Madison lakefront homes or real…

30416 Views, 9 Comments

Lake & City Homes adds Google Streetview

In a mad scramble to add as many bells & whistles to our flagship Madison real estate site as possible we neglected to announce that we added some important new functionality to our Property Details page: Google StreetView. One of the unique characteristics of Google StreetView is its ability to get a 360 degree view of the surrounding street outside any given property.  Check out the screenshot of the Google Streetview for 1622 Meadowcrest Lane in Middleton. Not only does it give you a ground-level view from the street so you can “walk” (virtually, of course) down any street and check out the surrounding areas, it also allows you to "grab" the picture with just one click of your mouse and manipulate the view. This is a great time-saver because it negates…

3265 Views, 3 Comments

Madison Named in Top 10 Places to Buy a Home

ABC News Good Morning America recently named Madison, WI one of the top 10 places in the country to buy a home. The following statistical data was provided as positives for the Madison WI housing market:

• Median Home Value: $207,600, down 4% from a year ago.
• Property values are flat compared with five years ago.
• Houses cost an average of $113 per square foot.
• Buyers are paying 3% less than listing price.

As always, such statistics have to be taken with a grain of salt as they are based on a very broad area (in recent years Madison has been expanding in several directions at a rapid clip). It is also important to note that Madison, WI is comprised of a wide diversity of different neighborhoods, North, South, East, West, and downtown,…

2328 Views, 4 Comments