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

Do you need to sell your current home in order to buy another? Are you wondering how you can compete against other buyers who don't have a home sale contingency? Do you feel overwhelmed by the tasks in front of you?

Whether your goal is to "down-size" or "up-size", you and your agent can make it happen by putting a proactive plan in place. Read on to learn our seven tips for selling and buying at the same time. By following these tips you'll be taking the necessary steps that will get you into your dream home. 

7 Tips for Selling and Buying at the Same Time

Tip 1: Work proactively with your real estate agent so you're ready to sell your home as soon as you find the home you'd like to buy. This means getting your home staged and having your

In the month of December our real estate team helped 3 different clients sell their home and buy a new home on the same day. As you'll see below, each client took a unique approach to making their home purchase happen. The common element among all 3 clients was each one worked proactively to implement a specific, well-thought-out plan. See below to learn how each client sold one home in order to buy another.  

Client One: Creating a Plan A and Plan B

Our clients Jeff and Patsy wished to sell their home in Waunakee in order to buy a new construction home in Madison. We were confident we could accomplish this by selling their current home quickly and scheduling it to close on the same day as their purchase. Just in case, Jeff and Patsy put a

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

We've added a lot of features to our website which make it easy to focus your search on the properties that are still available for sale - in other words, the listings which don't yet have an accepted offer. Now all of our community, neighborhood, and condo association pages show these listings at the top of each guide. 

"Active, Newest 1st" Sort Order

Now all of the listings without accepted offers are shown at the top of the list with the newest listings shown first. Take a look at this example below from our Wexford Village real estate guide. The first two listings shown have a status of "active" (no accepted offer) with the listings sorted from lowest to highest days on market. The third listing shown is a listing with the status of "offer-show"

It goes against convention, but the month of December is an excellent time to buy a home. Why? There are far fewer buyers to compete with in the wintertime, and sellers tend to be more motivated during the holiday season. This means the deals are better in December and January. If you're looking to get a fair deal on a nice home or condo, the winter season is an excellent time to buy. Of course every situation is different. Feel free to contact us to discuss your individual situation. 

Here are more specifics on why right now is an excellent time to buy in Madison and the surrounding Dane County area. 

Buyers Have Less Competition in December

It's much easier to get an offer accepted in December because there are fewer competing buyers. The MLS

It's a common misconception that you have to show your home to generate interest from buyers.  We're finding that there are ways to attract buyers in the early stages of preparing a listing, even before your home is ready to show. Take, for example, a listing we have at 2 Thornhill Circle, in Wexford Village. Before the home was even officially ready to show, the sellers had eight showing appointments lined up.

How did this happen? We used an effective selling strategy:
1. Have a Professional Staging Consultation
2. Finish Staging the First Floor
3. Professionally Photograph the First Floor
4. Make the Listing Available on the MLS and Online
5. Continue Staging the Rest of the House
6. Have the Rest of the Home Photographed and Filmed
7. Open the Home for

You've heard the saying, "location, location, location" when it comes to real estate. Where your home is located matters, and highlighting the neighboring perks can go a long way when you're ready to sell.

When we work with sellers, we help them prepare their home for listing. This includes staging it, photographing it professionally, and highlighting the home's best features. But marketing the home doesn't end there. We also focus on the neighborhood. What parks or trails are nearby? Are there key restaurants, shopping or a library within walking distance? These features are important to buyers. They often won't even visit a home unless they are sold on the location.

 We recently listed a home in the Midvale Heights neighborhood. The home is

Have you ever watched those HGTV programs and wished your home could be updated? Do you look around your home and wonder how to transform it for greater appeal? If you know that your current home is temporary, you could benefit from services to improve your current property- and prepare it for a future sale. All the while, you can enjoy the decor and staging that was prepared for the future listing.

One of our clients chose to approach their home this way. Two years ago they had us in to walk through their property in Midvale Heights. We offered suggestions for improvements and helped them stage it to show its best features. They completed the updates, and we captured photographs of this home, well in advance of it ever listing. Now, two years later,