Thinking of selling your Madison area home or condo in the coming year? Here are 3 resolutions that will help you have a happy new year in 2018. 

#1: Hire the listing agent who will net you the most at the closing table

A beautiful visual presentation is a requirement for a successful listing, so choose an agent who provides professional staging and professional photography (at a minimum) as part of their marketing plan. Your listing agent should also offer guidance on the low-cost improvements that will increase your home's value and reduce its time on the market. Last, your agent should demonstrate the negotiation skills you need to achieve the highest possible price for your home. When all is said and done you'll be glad you hired an agent

Our most recent single family home report shows 2018 is shaping up to be another strong year for sellers in the Madison area. Right now there is only 1 month of home supply in Madison, which is about as low as it can go for our market. 

A closer look at inventory shows how supply has tightened over the last year:

• In December of 2016, a total of 438 Madison single family homes were listed for sale on the MLS. In December of 2017, that number dipped to 376 (a decrease of 14%). 
• In December of 2016, 33% of single family home listings had an accepted offer. In December of 2017, the percentage increased to 39%. 
• In December of 2016, 1.4 months of supply were listed for sale. In December of 2017, supply decreased to just one month. 

The Madison real estate market will once again be very competitive in 2018. We're predicting another year of low inventory and rising prices for all of Dane County. If your goal is to buy in the new year, then right now is the time to start planning for your purchase. Here are our 6 new years resolutions that will help you successfully buy your dream home in 2018. 

#1: Get pre-approved with a reliable local lender

Work with a proven, local lender who gives you the personal attention and service you need in today's competitive market. Some of the big box and internet lenders have a tendency to miss deadlines and issue bad appraisals. If you value good communication and reliable service, then go local with your mortgage. Ask us for a referral to a

Thanks to all of you who have referred your friends and family to us in 2017, this last year has been a year of growth for our team. We truly appreciate your trust in us, and we'll do our best to keep earning it - one client at a time. Thank you for making 2017 our best year ever :)

As you've helped our business grow, we've been growing in other ways that will help us serve you better in the coming year. Here are a few of the ways we've grown for the better in 2017.

2017: A year of Growth for Mad City Dream Homes

#1: We've hired Kara Thomas as the newest agent on our team. Kara is an experienced, hard-working and service-oriented agent who has proven to be a great addition to our group. We now have 5 very capable agents on the team who work

The seller's market seems to come to Madison a little earlier each year, and in 2018 we expect the Madison area real estate market to be hot by February 1st at the latest. The primary reason for this is low inventory. Buyers are adjusting to the low inventory market by starting their property searches in the wintertime instead of the spring - in order to get a jump on their competition. We're expecting buyers to be very active, very early in 2018 due to low supply in the Madison area. 

As of this article, Madison single family home listings are down by more than 12% from the same time last year, and condo listings are lower by more than 38%. Meanwhile, Dane County's population and economy keep growing. With low supply and high demand, we're predicting

Our buyer agent team includes 5 full-time real estate agents plus 4 administrative professionals who work together to serve our clients. Below are 5 reasons why our buyer clients appreciate our team-based customer service model. 

#1: Responsiveness

Your lead buyer agent is responsible for carrying out your home-buying plan. However, we also make our entire agent team available to you so you receive the timely service you need in today's fast-moving market.

For example, you may need to see a hot new listing ASAP before any other buyer has a chance to write an offer on it. If your lead agent is unavailable, that's not a problem. Another agent from our team will schedule your showing immediately so you don't miss out on the opportunity to

More surprises are revealed with every step you take on the property at 21 State St. Mazomanie, from gardens and a pergola to the mix of wooded and open land beyond the creek. Also tucked behind the stunning 1865 Victorian Italianate home is an old carriage house that has been skillfully converted to a second home.

Built in 1909, the barn had been turned into an art studio in the 1980s. Then while Dave and Karisa Friske were in the process of restoring the main residence into a bed and breakfast in the early 2000s, they also chipped away at converting the adjacent structure into their family's living quarters while retaining its essence.

"It had electricity, it had a furnace, but the upstairs was a barn ... and there was no running water," Karisa

The hot spring market seems to come a little earlier to Madison with each passing year, as buyers seek to get a jump on their competition. Last year the market really heated up in February, as can be seen in the graph below. 

Each bar on this graph represents a snapshot of the Madison single family home market taken mid-month. In February of 2016 only 35% of all single family home listings were under contract with an accepted offer. In February of 2017 the percentage jumped to 51%. In other words, if you were searching for listings online in February of 2017, over half of the listings you viewed were already spoken for and scheduled to close soon. The market stayed this tight all the way through the month of June.

2018 will be another low

This year we're getting a jump on our annual predictions for the Madison real estate market. Without further adieu, here our real estate predictions for 2018. (For a look back at last year's predictions, check out this post.)

#1: New home and condo construction will remain low. 

New apartment buildings continue to pop up all over the city. Meanwhile, single family home housing starts have plateaued in 2017, while new condo construction remains almost non-existent. All signs point to more of the same in 2018.

#2: The foreclosure pipeline will be nearly empty. 

Madison area foreclosures are at a 16 year low, which means distressed property listings will be relatively rare in the coming year. 

#3: Housing demand will remain strong. 

If you enjoy spending time in or around water, you'll be right at home in the Mariners Cove Condos. It truly is a "mariner's paradise," said Judy Wagener.

While Judy and her husband, Walt, used to sail together, they decided to buy a pontoon boat when they moved here to take more friends out on Lake Mendota -- especially since a boat slip is included in the condo fees.

"The boating life was a big draw for us ... and it's an easy walk to the docks," she said.

There is year-round water activity here, from water skiing or ice skating on the lake to kayaking the Yahara River toward Cherokee Marsh.

And the same is true at the condos, where you'll find people swimming in the indoor and outdoor pools. People seem to congregate in these spaces,