It's a time of scarcity for Dane County real estate. 

A scarcity of land to build on. A scarcity of materials and supplies to build new homes. And a scarcity of labor to do the work. 

One thing that is not in short supply is the number of people moving to Dane County. Our population continues to grow, and the options for homeownership aren’t keeping pace. Given this, we expect home and condo inventory will remain low and prices will remain high for the foreseeable future.

So when will it be a good time to buy real estate? We believe the best time to buy is right now. Not a year or two from now. And not when interest rates fall. Hoping and waiting for a better time to buy when both rates and prices are lower is likely to end in disappointment.

If you're a numbers person, you might say the best time to buy a home would have been 11 years ago when the market bottomed out during the Great Recession. Since that time, Dane County home prices have risen by 94%. 

Or, put another way, if you purchased a Dane County home for $300,000 in 2012, that same home would be worth roughly $580,000 right now. 

But what about the future?

If home prices are so high right now, you might expect lower prices and more opportunities to buy right around the corner. After all, prices always do eventually fall. 

Our take is that although prices will eventually fall, we don't see this happening anytime soon. There are simply too many factors at work that will limit supply and maintain high prices for the

We have a tendency to assume that the real estate market will act as it always has according to predictable patterns and cycles. But, we're in a new era for real estate. And what we're learning right now is that some of the old rules no longer apply. Here are 3 examples.

Old rule #1:

Prices go through regular boom and bust cycles based on having either too little or too much supply.

• New rule #1: Many systemic factors are at play which will limit supply indefinitely and keep prices high.

Old rule #2:

The springtime and the summertime tend to be the best times to buy a home in Dane County.

• New rule #2: In a perpetually low supply market like ours, buying a home is now a year-round endeavor. Your best opportunity could present

Here's our latest insight into the Dane County condominium market, covering the month of July, 2023.

July Dane County condo prices

Madison area condo prices continued to rise in July, and by all measures:

• The price per square foot of $226 rose by 8 percent from $210 in July of 2022.
• The median price of $322,500 jumped by 17 percent.
• And the average price of $359,203 soared by 23 percent.

Note: Because the number of condos sold each month is relatively small, the monthly numbers can experience dramatic swings. However, these numbers for the month of July are consistent with how the condo market has been performing throughout the year.

New MLS listings

Only 122 condos were listed for sale in July, which was a decrease of

Here's our latest insight into the Dane County single family home market, covering the month of July, 2023. 

July Dane County home prices

Madison area home prices continued to rise in July, and by all measures:

• The price per square foot of $225 rose by 6 percent from the $213 in July of 2022.
• The median price of $446,154 also grew by 6 percent.
• And the average price of $505,915 increased by 5 percent. 

We're expecting prices to continue to rise for the foreseeable future based on all of our current supply and demand trends -- keep reading for more insight.

July MLS listings

As the chart below shows, MLS listing activity decreased significantly last summer when interest rates moved sharply higher. And listings have been

We've entered the heart of the summer season, when showing activity subsides from the peak market of the spring. And showings will continue to slow throughout the second half of the year, as they do every year, here in Dane County. 

At the same time it's important to know that prices keep rising in the Madison area, even though buyer activity is slowing. We'll have a lot more to share on this topic, coming to our blog real soon. 

It's a low inventory market, for sure, but buyers who remain persistent and patient will find more opportunities to purchase in the months ahead. That's because fewer buyers are home-shopping during the second half of the year, and inventory is slowly rising. And we expect this trend to continue into the fall season, as it typically does each year.

What questions do you have about buying or selling a home in the Madison area? We're always available for a helpful conversation, and we'd love to help you plan for your future.

Dane County condo prices continued to rise in the month of June, and by all measures. Here's our latest condo market update, covering the month of June, 2023. 

Condo prices

The condo price per square foot increased to $219, which was an increase of 8% from the $203 per square foot in June of 2022. The median price increased by 13%, and the average price by 15%. 

Through the first 6 months of the year, the price per square foot, the median, and the average price were up by 7 percent, 13 percent, and 12 percent, respectively. 

New condo listings

Last summer mortgage rates shot up to nearly 6 percent, and MLS listings have been trending lower ever since. New Dane County condo listings decreased by 21 percent from the number of listings in

Local home prices jumped higher once in again in the month of June. Here's our latest Dane County single family home report, updated for the month of June, 2023. 

Dane County home prices

The price per square foot was $230, which was an increase of 5 percent from last June's price of $218. The median price increased 3 percent in June. The average price increased 6 percent.

Through the first 6 months of the year, the price per square foot, the median price and the average price were up 5 percent, 5 percent, and 8 percent respectively. 

New MLS listings

A total of 507 Dane County homes were listed for sale in the month of June, which was a 31 percent decrease compared to the 731 homes listed for sale in June of 2022. Compared to June of

One of the interesting aspects of our market is that prices continue to rise in 2023 even though buyer activity is down significantly from each of the previous two years. As the chart below shows, showings are down by 23% compared to the first 6 months of 2022, and down by 32% compared to first half of 2021. 

Another trend the chart makes clear is that there is usually a seasonal aspect to buyer activity. Typically, showings peak in the springtime and then subside in the summertime and throughout the remainder of the year. 

Buyers and sellers should be aware of these changes as we enter the summer season. Showings will decrease in July and August, for sure. Bidding wars will be less common. And we'll see fewer buyers writing offers that waive