Madison Wisconsin Real Estate News - Tips for Sellers

A Few Reasons Your Madison Home Isn't Selling

You put your Madison home on the market thinking it would sell quickly and for a great price, but weeks later, it’s still sitting there with few offers or showing requests. What went wrong? There are a few reasons some homes sit on the market longer than others. Luckily, most of these issues can be rectified to increase your chances of making a successful home sale. Here are a few reasons your Madison home might not be selling.

Incorrect Listing Price

Price is one of the major reasons a home isn’t selling. Obviously you want to sell your home for the best price possible, but if the price you are asking isn't in alignment with current market values, home buyers aren’t likely to bite. You need to look at recent sales in your area and see what…

2 Views, 0 Comments

The FSBO Fallacy: Why Selling Your Own Home Won’t Save On Commissions

Although some people are very successful at selling their own home, the process can be a literal minefield. Not only can it be very time-consuming, there are many mistakes unrepresented sellers (FSBO’s) can make, some of which can cost more than the commission FSBO’s may think they’re saving by not listing with a Realtor. A recent study by Collateral Analytics (CA) shows that unrepresented sellers not only do not save money on commissions, in some cases they may actually net substantially less than what they would have had they listed with a full service, licensed real estate agent.

In the study, CA analyzed home sales statistics in a variety of U.S. real estate markets in both 2016 and in the first half of 2017. The data revealed several key…

1751 Views, 0 Comments

Selling your luxury home in Madison

Last night I read an interview with a luxury home sales agent in Southern California.

The part of the piece that really jumped out at me was when the agent told the interviewer about how she marketed a particular luxury home by placing an ad in an in-flight magazine, “. . . which I paid for myself . . .”

Now, why would that line in particular catch my attention?

Because I was appalled.

Who else did she expect to pay for it? She was hired to market a home and, especially since it’s a luxury home, she’ll be paid a hefty sum for doing so.

Unfortunately, this is how some real estate agents think.

If they even have a marketing budget, they’ll cut corners in it wherever and whenever they can. They may even expect you, the homeowner, to…

839 Views, 0 Comments

How long does it take to sell a home in Madison?

Homes in Madison spend an average of 30 days on the market, according to the latest statistics. It is, by the way, the least amount of time homes have spent on the market in our MLS’ history.

Well-maintained, staged homes, in desirable areas, can sell within weeks, sometimes quicker. Luxury homes naturally take longer.

Let’s take a look at the answers to the most common question I receive from my home selling clients

The local economy' impact on home sales

Real estate is sensitive to the economic cycle and, when the economy slows down, so does the real estate market. Remember, real estate is local, so not only is it affected by the national economy (food prices, etc.) but on local economic factors as well.

When an area sheds jobs, for…

1687 Views, 0 Comments

7 Reasons Why it’s STILL a Seller’s Market

A seller’s market is when there is less than six months of inventory on the market. In the Madison area we have been facing a severe shortage of inventory for the last seven (!) years. What are the reasons for these market conditions and why are they persisting?

Perhaps more importantly, what can a good real estate agent do to increase your chances of landing a great property in a multiple bidding situation.

The first reason we’re in a seller’s market is obvious: there is precious little inventory for sale. The question on everybody’s mind however, is why?

Why is there so little inventory?

What are the forces that have caused inventory to dry up to levels not seen in more than a decade? Why is it becoming more and more difficult for…

1657 Views, 0 Comments

Winter is NOT the “Off Season” for selling a home in Madison

As we move closer to winter you’ll no doubt start hearing about how lousy winter is for the real estate industry. “Winter can be the toughest season to put a house on the market,” claims Adam Verwymeren at Fox News.

Most of us who actually work in the industry know better.

Winter has its advantages when it comes to buying and selling homes in Madison.

Consider the source

When reading stories about anything, it’s always good to consider the source. Mr. Verymeren at Fox News, for instance. There’s no bio that accompanies his article so we have no way of knowing if he is involved in the real estate industry and, therefore, no way to gauge the veracity of his information.

So, when the Associated Press’ Dave Carpenter says that winter…

714 Views, 1 Comments

Selling a home in Madison: What to do with the dog(s) during showings

I have to laugh when I read real estate advice from folks who have never had a real estate client in their lives, never been responsible for the sale of a home and have never been a homeowner trying to sell one. Novices have a tendency to throw out advice and then either ignore or gloss over the details. Open house and home showing advice is some of the most common I encounter on the Internet.

Even worse, however, is when this invaluable advice is tossed out on a real estate agent’s website. Here is one of my all-time favorites:

"get the pets to stay elsewhere until your home sells"

Now, darn it, why didn’t we think of that? Just board your pets for the entire time your home is on the market! Understand that pet boarding facilities…

853 Views, 0 Comments

3 FAQ from Madison home sellers and the answers you need

You have questions and we have the answers. If you’re getting ready to sell your home in Madison, read on.

1. Is one season better than another to sell a home in Madison?

I know – it seems like summer only just started and here we are on the cusp of autumn (it starts September 22). And, while we’re all trying to wring out every last drop of this glorious summer in Madison, I am starting to get what I call the “seasonal selling” questions from homeowners.

Long ago, “spring is the best time to sell a home” became the media’s mantra. And, to be fair, they’re partially correct. The media are also fond of telling us that winter is a terrible time to sell. There, they are wrong.

Home sales in November do tend to fall around 8 percent,…

852 Views, 0 Comments

Fake news, real estate style

Imagine you own a home and you decide to sell it. You hire a real estate agent to help you and the agent crunches the numbers and determines that your home, which overlooks a golf course in a high-demand community, is worth $629,000.

The home is listed in the MLS, the agent goes about marketing it, but nothing happens. Or, when offers do finally come in, they are for $100,000 less than the list price. Both the agent and the homeowner are astounded since other homes in the neighborhood with more square footage sold for $100,000 MORE than this home.

How can this happen?

Fake news. Yup, it even happens in real estate and the results can be catastrophic.

Zillow.com

If you are familiar with Zillow you know about the website’s “Zestimates.”…

859 Views, 0 Comments

Getting a divorce? What to do with your Madison home

If you’re married, and an American, you have a 30 to 50 percent chance that your marriage will end in divorce. If you live in Wisconsin, you may end up among the nearly 15,000 divorce cases here every year, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Dane County couples come in second on the list of most divorces in the state – 1,232 in 2015 (the last year for which we have statistics).

So, ok, you’re a statistic. Once the shock wears off it’s time to consider the process of separating the marriage assets. It can be a rancorous and ugly process, but he sooner the two of you begin discussing it, the easier it will be.

What will we do with the house?

Since the marital home is typically the couple’s largest investment, it’s the…

1157 Views, 0 Comments