dane county: How we're saving to $40 to $50 per month in home energy bills
- 05/18/10 12:34 AM
My wife and I own an older home that was built when home energy efficiency wasn't a high priority. We've seen our utility bills sky rocket in recent years, so we recently contacted Piping Plover Home Energy Solutions to help us improve the energy efficiency of our home. We're very glad we made that call. The first thing Piping Plover did for us was to perform an energy audit of our home. Lee Schwartz spent 3 hours at our home, identifying all of the different ways that energy (and money) were escaping from our home. Shortly after his visit, Lee provided … (2 comments)
dane county: Where's Fido?
- 04/20/10 11:08 PM
Our clients just bought this property. It ended up being the perfect fit for them. You wouldn't know it by the pictures, but this is a great 3 bedroom home, in immaculate condition, with plenty of sunlight pouring in. I remember taking our clients to this property for the first time, and we were all pleasantly surprised by what we saw. We almost never made it to this home due to its online appearance, but our clients decided to give it a shot anyway. To a certain extent it was luck that brought our buyers and the sellers together.
… (2 comments)
dane county: Dane County distressed property sales on the rise
- 11/19/09 02:30 PM
The Dane County Distressed Property Index rose slightly in October to .24, indicating approximately 24% of the home and condos sales in October were related to foreclosure. The chart below shows the index has quadrupled since January of 2006.
On a related note, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced today in its National Delinquency Survey that 14.41% of all loans were either in foreclosure or at least one payment past due at the end of the third quarter 2009. That's a new record. With a rising number of distressed properties and lower prices, we're seeing a lot of interest from buyers who might … (0 comments)
dane county: UW Credit Union has joined the DaneCountyMarket.com web site
- 11/18/09 10:12 PM
We're excited to announce the UW Credit Union has joined our DaneCountyMarket.com web site. This means our web site users can now search for properties, research the market, check the latest mortgage rates, and apply for a loan all from one convenient online location. Speaking of mortgage rates, loans for 30 year fixed rate mortgages were available for 4.75% yesterday. You can check out today's rates by going to our home page. Like us, UWCU is a provider of good consumer information, and soon UWCU will be offering educational articles that will be available from our site. Have a great day, Dan Miller, … (0 comments)
dane county: Dane County home and condo sales up again in October
- 11/15/09 09:23 PM
Our preliminary statistics from the South Central Wisconsin MLS are in for the month of October. Dane County home sales increased for the fourth straight month on a year-over-year basis. Home sales jumped from 269 in October of 2008 to 332 last month, an increase of 23%.
Dane County condo sales grew for the second straight month. Condo sales rose from 80 in October of 2008 to 114 in October of 2009, an increase of 43%.
Prices for both homes and condos were lower, as much of the market was focused on taking advantage of the first-time home buyer tax credit. … (0 comments)
dane county: Northern Bay Condos up for auction on Saturday, December 12th
- 11/12/09 08:54 PM
Five of the Northern Bay Condos on Castle Rock Lake will be put up for auction by Micoley & Company on Saturday, December 12th, at 11:00 AM. Registration for the event starts at 10:00 AM. The minimum acceptable bid will be $95,000 or $125,000, depending on the unit. For more information on the auction, you can check out this link from Micoley & Company. Lately we've seen a number of condo developments getting serious about moving their inventory, either through public auctions or dramatic price reductions. Condo inventory remains very high. Don't be surprised if we see additional fire sales in … (1 comments)
dane county: Dane County housing starts sluggish in October
- 11/10/09 10:01 PM
We're almost ready to publish our Dane County existing home sales data for the month of October. October will mark the fourth straight month of increasing house sales (and the second straight month for condos). Clearly the home buyer tax credit is having an effect on the sale of existing homes and condos, especially in the lower end of the market. However, Dane County housing starts remain sluggish. A total of 49 housing starts were recorded in October, compared to 52 in October of 2008, a decrease of 5.8%. Here's the monthly trend dating back to January of 2005.
Year-to-date, housing … (0 comments)
dane county: 154 Dane County foreclosures in October
- 11/09/09 09:19 PM
A total of 154 Dane County foreclosures were filed in October, up 1.3% from the 152 foreclosures filed in October of 2008. Although only up slightly from last year's total, this October's number represents the third highest monthly total dating back to October of 2008.
For our full foreclosure report, you can check out the economic trends page at DaneCountyMarket.com . Dan Miller, Realtor, Certified Distressed Property Expert, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com … (2 comments)
dane county: You're buying a new home. Should you work with the listing agent? A buyer agent? An attorney?
- 11/04/09 10:39 PM
We recently showed in this post why working with a good buyer agent can be a huge benefit to a home buyer. A listing agent can't provide you with the level of service and advocacy that you should expect from an agent in today's market. Remember, the listing agent works for her client, the seller. So when it comes to choosing between working with the listing agent and a good buyer agent, a good buyer agent is the clear choice. But what about an attorney? We fully support any buyer who wishes to hire an attorney. An attorney provides peace of mind. She brings … (1 comments)
dane county: A cool home inspection web site
- 11/03/09 10:05 PM
Home inspector Brian Paull from Premier Inspection & Consulting has a very useful web site for anyone who is interested in learning more about home maintenance and the home inspection process. Brian's site includes a description of the home inspection standards of practice and a section on frequently asked questions, as well as information on radon, mold, and many other topics such as energy efficiency, electrical safety, asbestos, child safety, elderly safety and more. For more useful inspection and testing information, you can check out the inspection and testing resource page under buying real estate at DaneCountyMarket.com. Have a good day, … (2 comments)
dane county: Dane County multifamily inventory keeps climbing
- 11/02/09 10:01 PM
As of October 31st the months of inventory for Dane County multifamily real estate stood at 41.9 months. That's more than twice the inventory for Dane County condos, and almost 5 times the inventory for Dane County homes. With high inventory and low sales, it's a great time to learn about multifamily real estate. Some sellers are becoming more flexible with pricing, and we're seeing more and more multifamily foreclosures. If you're interested in learning more about multifamily real estate, please feel free to join us for our FREE workshop at 6PM on Tuesday, November 17th, at Bishop's Bay Country Club. … (0 comments)
dane county: Changes on the horizon for the tax credit?
- 10/29/09 02:48 PM
It's beginning to look like the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers will be extended, AND the tax credit may be enhanced to include individuals who sell a home to buy another. This article provides more details. Speaking of buying, two local home buyer seminars are on the calendar for November. The UW Credit Union is offering a seminar on Tuesday, November 10th from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. For more information about this seminar, click here. The Dane County Housing Authority is sponsoring a two-part series with seminars on both Tuesday, November 10th and Tuesday, November 17th. Both sessions run from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. For course details and registration info, click here. We'll be sharing … (0 comments)
dane county: Real estate investment workshop is set for Tuesday, November 17th at 6:00 PM
- 10/28/09 11:50 PM
We're excited to be holding a free real estate investment workshop at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, November 17th at Bishops Bay Country Club. The atmosphere will be very casual, and appetizers and refreshments will be provided. There's no need to worry about any heavy pressure or sales spin. That's not what we do. The workshop will last as long as needed in order to make sure we address everyone's interests and questions. Our focus will be on passive income and multifamily real estate. Our panel will include Jim Hill and Shawn Kriewaldt from Keller Williams Realty. We'll also have a lender, an attorney … (0 comments)
dane county: Cold Play
- 10/25/09 11:09 PM
As we approach the month of November, the weather becomes colder - and the real estate market does, too. It may sound counter-intuitive, but the next few months offer an excellent opportunity to buy real estate. And for a few reasons: #1: Although inventory is lower now than it is in the Spring and Summer months, it is still quite high by historical standards. . #2: Buyer demand drops significantly in the Fall and Winter months. This means less competition from other buyers and more flexibility from sellers. Many sellers become very flexible with pricing after they've seen their home sit on the market through the Spring … (2 comments)
dane county: Do you know someone who is worried about foreclosure?
- 10/20/09 11:46 PM
This web site - DaneCountyShortSales.com - has a list of useful resources. It also includes basic information about the short sale process, as well as information on how we've structured our real estate team to assist our short sale clients. You won't find any heavy spin on the site. We've done our best to lay out the information in a concise and straight forward matter. Also, we don't force users of our site to give up their contact info in order to view our information. Have a good day, Dan Miller, Realtor, Certified Distressed Property Expert, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com … (0 comments)
dane county: Plenty of buying opportunities on the horizon in Dane County
- 10/18/09 11:04 PM
Approximately 24% of the home and condo sales in Dane County are related to foreclosure. This is according to a new measure - the distressed property index - that we've developed along with Peter Zarov from Homestead Title. The graph below shows how the index has grown by almost 5 times since January of 2006.
We expect the index to grow in the coming months due to the recent spike in foreclosure filings. This means we'll see a greater percentage of Dane County sales going to short sales and lender-owned (REO) sales. Keep in mind this index is an approximation. You can read … (0 comments)
Meanwhile Dane County condo sales rose for the first month since October of 2007. Condo sales last month were up 33% from the number of condos sold in September of 2008.
The median Dane County home price decreased by 1.9% in September.
The median Dane County condo price decreased by 13.5%, as much of the condo buying activity was in the most affordable price categories.
The first-time home buyer tax credit is certainly … (0 comments)
dane county: How does Dane County compare to other area markets?
- 10/12/09 10:39 PM
We pay a lot of attention to the Dane County real estate market. When we take a look at the data for other surrounding counties it becomes abundantly clear how good the Dane County market is compared to other local markets. Take a look at this graph, which shows the single family home months of inventory for 9 local counties.
The months of inventory in Dane County are much less than the levels for any of the other counties in the South Central Wisconsin MLS. Dane County is not immune to national economic trends, but all-in-all it is a great place to be practicing real estate. … (0 comments)
dane county: Dane County foreclosures up 82% in September
- 10/08/09 11:04 PM
Dane County foreclosures jumped from 101 in September of 2008 to 184 last month - an increase of 82%. The 184 foreclosures last month set a new record for Dane County. Here's how foreclosures have been trending since January of 2005.
You'll find our full report on the economic trends page at DaneCountyMarket.com. Have a good weekend, Dan Miller, Realtor, Certified Distressed Property Expert, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com … (0 comments)
dane county: Dane County housing starts lower in September
- 10/07/09 10:15 PM
Dane County housing starts totaled 48 in September, down by more than 22% from the 62 housing starts in September of 2008. The chart below shows how monthly housing starts have been trending since January of 2005.
The peak September for housing starts over the last decade was in 2003 (not in chart), when 239 housing starts were initiated. The 48 starts this past month were 80% off the peak. Thanks to Dominic Collar from MTD Marketing Services of Wisconsin for sharing his data. For more information, you can contact Dominic directly at 920/993-8435. You can also check out our … (0 comments)
My wife and I own an older home that was built when home energy efficiency wasn't a high priority. We've seen our utility bills sky rocket in recent years, so we recently contacted Piping Plover Home Energy Solutions to help us improve the energy efficiency of our home. We're very glad we made that call.
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