Madison home prices started the year off strong in 2017. The price per square foot reached a record high of $139, up 8% from $129 in January of 2016. 

Measuring prices in another way (the average price), home prices increased by 10%. The average price of $271,485 was a record high for the month of January. 

Get Used to Rising Prices in 2017

We expect prices to rise by at least 5 to 6 percent this year due to persistently low levels of inventory.  If you're buying, you'll need to adjust your tactics in order to compete in this year's seller's market. Check out our blog for our 2017 home-buying tips. 

If you're selling, your home may be worth a lot more than you think, especially during this year's Spring selling season. Contact us for

We track a lot of stats each month to stay in touch with the latest real estate trends in Madison. If we were to choose the most meaningful statistic it would be the percent of listings with accepted offers. Knowing this number provides some great insight into the momentum and direction of the market. 

Right now an amazing 51% of all Madison single family home listings have an accepted offer. This is a high percentage for any time of year, especially the month of February. It tells us the Spring market has already arrived in Madison.  

This Year's Market is Hotter

Last year at this time only 35% of all Madison single family home listings had an accepted offer. This year more than half of all listings are under contract and scheduled to close

It's only February 1st but it's already beginning to feel like a Spring market. So far this year 4 of our transactions have involved cash offers. One of our listing clients just received 4 cash offers - all of them for above the list price. 

Single family homes are in short supply, and buyers are adjusting their tactics accordingly. Here's a quick overview of the competitive real estate market in Dane County.  

Madison Single Family Homes

The real estate market in Madison is hot under $400,000. Overall there are only 1.1 months of inventory available for sale. Almost one-third of all single family home listings have an accepted offer (a high percentage for this time of year).

Fitchburg Single Family Homes

The Fitchburg real estate

Home supply in the Madison area is low and the demand for housing is booming, yet home building levels have been flat for the last 4 years. So why aren't more homes being built in Madison and Dane County? One industry expert recently shared his insights with me (see below). 

Why aren't more homes being built in and around Madison? 

Before the 2005 housing downturn, activity with developers and financial institutions in various stages of planning and completion was robust. It was a financially rewarding time to be a lender or a builder. When the downturn hit, the emotional and financial shock took many by surprise and is reflected in the current reluctance of lenders to provide capitol, and developers and builders to take chances.

The one

It's going to be another wild and crazy year for real estate in 2017. Low supply will be the HUGE theme as the weather starts to warm. If you're serious about buying in 2017, you'll need to go "all in". The market is already playing its hand this year - and supply is trending lower. Here is some quick insight into the inventory trends at play in the Madison area real estate market. 

Madison Single Family Home Inventory is Historically Low

Right now there are only 1.1 months of inventory in the Madison single family home market. Last year at this time there were 1.6 months. What's more, active MLS listings are down 20% from where they were last year. Almost one-third of the listings on the market right now are under contract (a very high percentage

Madison home prices will rise again in 2017 because inventory remains low and there is a large pent up demand for real estate. Despite modestly higher interest rates, expect a Spring market full of bidding wars and listings that sell in a matter of days or even hours.

If you're a serious buyer, begin your search in December or January rather than delay until the Summer or Spring. The competition for housing will become very fierce very soon. 

If you're a committed seller, know that in today's market you don't need to list in the Summer or Spring in order to have a successful sale. You can list in early 2017 and achieve positive results. The data below demonstrates why the market favors you.  

Signs of a Seller's Market

We just completed a

These days a lot of our real estate news comes from social media chatter and headlines. In this post we summarize the latest market trends with some objective data straight from the MLS. Here are the latest scoops on the 2016 Spring markets in Fitchburg, Madison, Middleton and Verona. 

Fitchburg Homes and Condos

Inventory is tight in both the single family home and condo markets. Below are a couple of quick nuggets followed by more market info on our SlideShare real estate page. 

• Fitchburg single family home inventory is especially tight for properties priced under $400,000. Right now there is only 1 month of supply for listings in this price range. Sixty-two percent of these listings are under contact and scheduled to close soon. 

Where are the hottest markets in Dane County? In this post we take a quick look at the larger markets in the western half of the county, specifically Fitchburg, Madison, Middleton, and Verona. 

We use two key measures to gauge market momentum - months of supply and the percent of listings with accepted offers. When we use these two statistics there are two markets which stand out above the rest. 

Dane County's Hottest Condo Market

Condos are selling very well across all of Dane County, but the Verona condo market is the market that stands out above all others. Right now there are only 1.5 months of condo inventory available for sale in Verona. Amazingly, 64% of the condo listings in Verona are under contract and are scheduled to close soon. 

How's the market shaping up this year? Here are our 8 predictions for the 2016 Madison real estate market. 

Prediction #1: The Madison rental market will remain tight. 

Apartment vacancy rates will remain low, even though construction is booming with thousands of new units planned for 2016 and 2017. Dane County's apartment-hungry population continues to absorb new inventory, thanks in large part to the growth of Epic Systems and other local tech companies. The latest vacancy rate data from MG&E shows apartment availability is very tight. 

Prediction #2: Madison apartment rents will rise. 

A shortage of available rentals means rents will rise in 2016. And rising rents will force some apartment dwellers to choose home ownership over

Our short slideshow below provides a concise overview of the latest trends in the Madison, Wisconsin condo market. Our inventory data is up-to-date as of October 17th. All other data is up-to-date through the month of September. Here's a quick narrative on the latest trends in our local condo market. 

Madison Condo Trends - 9/2015

• Inventory remains very low - 2.2 months of supply and less - for condos priced below $250,000. The market dynamics at the lower price points generally favor sellers over buyers. At higher price points the months of supply are much higher. However, there is more than meets the eye with the inventory data. We'll dig deeper into the inventory data in a future blog post. 
• New condo listings are entering the market at a