Real estate blog entries tagged with bayfield by Eric Kodner, CRS, Madeline Island Realty, LaPointe, WI 54850

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bayfield: 2021 Construction Materials Prices are on the Rise - 02/13/21 02:39 PM

2021 Construction Materials Prices are on the Rise

While we're all pleased that historically-low mortgage interest rates are poised to propel the real estate market forward in 2021, it's important to be aware that their are also market factors which will put a dent in new construction profits this year.
One of the biggest challenges faced by builders in 2021 will be the cost of building materials. The second-home market in northwest Wisconsin is not exempted from those challenges.
Construction-related commodities like lumber, copper pipe and wire, steel used in concrete rebar and other building materials are poised to rise in price. Alongside those … (2 comments)

bayfield: Madeline Island Receives a Mention on Door County Daily News Website - 04/14/15 07:44 AM

Madeline Island Receives a Mention on Door County Daily News Website

I was pleased to notice that an article on the Door County Daily News website about Washington Island (located just north of the Door Peninsula in northeastern Wisconsin) mentioned Madeline Island. The mention appeared in a link to Barry Adams' April 12, 2015 article in the Wisconsin State Journal, entitled "On Wisconsin: Getting to know the Badger State a Little Better".

Adams' article in the State Journal referred to Madeline Island as "the largest island of the Apostle Islands where students take an ice boat to school in Bayfield during the winter". … (3 comments)

bayfield: Madeline Island Realty Recommended by Blogger Bob Crane - 02/22/15 10:54 PM

Madeline Island Realty Recommended by Blogger Bob Crane

We're very proud of this recent recommendation by ActiveRain blogger and forestland expert Bob Crane:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/4609137/ashland-county--wisconsin-forests---miles-of-shoreland-

In Bob's blog post about buying land in Ashland County, Wisconsin, Bob wrote, "If you are interested in purchasing land in Ashland County, give my friend Eric Kodner a call".

At Madeline Island Realty, we do specialize in homes and land, not only in Ashland County but also in neighboring Bayfield and Douglas Counties of northwest Wisconsin. It's gratifying to be endorsed by top real estate bloggers like Bob Crane and we're proud to … (1 comments)

bayfield: How to Recognize Our Madeline Island Realty Signs - 08/30/14 11:23 PM

How to Recognize Our Madeline Island Realty Signs

Customers appear to be easily confused by the various "Real Estate For Sale" signs on Madeline Island. I was showing homes yesterday on the Island and a customer asked me, "can we take a look at that house down the road today? It's one of your listings, right?"
The listing wasn't ours, but she thought the lawn sign was one of our signs. The confusion is at least somewhat understandable.
In January of 2011, we decided to redesign our Madeline Island Realty real estate lawn signs, in order to make them more visible and … (3 comments)

bayfield: Seller Asks What it Will Take to Get His Home Sold - 08/28/14 04:09 AM

Seller Asks What it Will Take to Get His Home Sold

This is a question which we receive from determined and motivated sellers fairly often. The answer may not be perceived as good news by a seller, but it's a truthful reply.
When a prospective buyer sees the value in what you're selling, and they can picture themselves owning and enjoying the property you are offering, that combination of factors generally results in an offer.
Price is probably the most significant issue in getting your home sold. If a buyer sees your home as overpriced, it will likely drive that buyer away. … (0 comments)

bayfield: We Made Sales All Winter While Other Area Realtors Were on Vacation - 04/03/14 01:14 AM

We Made Sales All Winter While Other Area Realtors Were on Vacation

For as far back as I can remember, real estate agents on Madeline Island and on the mainland (Bayfield and other northwest Wisconsin towns) have been giving their clients the questionable advice that "no one comes up here to buy in winter, so you might as well take your property off the market until next April or May".

If you bought into that bad advice last autumn, you made a major mistake.

Between mid-September of 2013 and today, buyer interest in real estate on Madeline Island and in the Apostle … (4 comments)

bayfield: Signs Point to a Bayfield and South Shore Market Rebound - 03/22/14 12:30 PM

Signs Point to a Bayfield and South Shore Market Rebound

The purpose of a Market Report is to do more than quote statistics. Ideally, we're supposed to draw conclusions from the information in front of us. Some would call that prognosticating, but we're convinced that there are increasing signs of a market rebound in the Bayfield, Wisconsin real estate market, as well as increasing interest in the rest of the Apostle Islands region of northwest Wisconsin.
During the past month, we've received more email and telephone inquiries and more general interest in Bayfield and the South Shore than I've seen in five years or … (3 comments)

bayfield: How Do You Perform a Home Inspection at Twenty Degrees Below Zero? - 02/27/14 01:15 PM

How Do You Perform a Home Inspection at Twenty Degrees Below Zero?

Every day brings a new experience in this business. This morning, we were scheduled to have a home inspection performed at one of our Madeline Island home listings. That inspection had to be postponed, due to the "Polar Vortex".
The forecast last night for LaPointe, Wisconsin was for temperatures of eighteen to twenty below zero. And nighttime lows are predicted to remain in the subzero category for the next four or five days.
At temperatures like those, it's just plain unsafe to "un-winterize" a home in order … (1 comments)

bayfield: I'm Excited About Listing Your Home - It's Your Price That Concerns Me - 02/25/14 01:50 PM

I'm Excited About Listing Your Home - It's Your Price That Concerns Me

I don't often spend time blogging about the listings I didn't get. But this one is well worth sharing with you.
About two years ago, I met with a couple about listing their home in the Bayfield area of northern Wisconsin. We had two listing appointments and things seemed to be going well. Where we hit a snag was on price. This couple insisted on overpricing their home, and it had already been on the market for quite some time.
I must have had trouble disguising … (0 comments)

bayfield: Bayfield, Wisconsin Ice Caves now a Hugely Popular Tourist Attraction - 02/16/14 11:22 PM

Bayfield, Wisconsin Ice Caves now a Hugely Popular Tourist Attraction

Thousands of hardy sightseers will line up today to see the dramatic ice caves near Bayfield and Cornucopia, Wisconsin. NBC News reported this morning. The sudden growth in popularity of the Apostle Islands Sea Caves (now Ice Caves) has caused the attraction to go viral as a winter tourist must-see.
The unusually thick ice on frozen Lake Superior has made it safe for tourists to trek on foot across the ice to tour the caves, which were carved from sandstone bluffs by centuries of wave action.
The favorable ice … (2 comments)

bayfield: Weekly Property Showings on Madeline Island - In January? - 01/29/14 11:55 PM

Weekly Property Showings on Madeline Island - In January?

This weekend will mark three weekends in a row where we've received requests for showing appointments on Madeline Island.
That's right..three weekends in January.
If you're looking for signs that the real estate market on Madeline Island has improved, I'd say the recent volume of showing requests is one of the best indicators we've seen.
What prompts a prospective buyer to drive four or five hours one-way (plus a ten-minute drive across the ice road between Bayfield, Wisconsin and Madeline Island) in midwinter?
One reason would be that buyers have … (2 comments)

bayfield: Comparing Similar Great Lakes Second Home Communities - Door County WI - 01/26/14 09:07 AM

Comparing Similar Great Lakes Second Home Communities - Door County WI

When comparing new and existing home costs in similar recreational or second home communities on (or near) the Great Lakes, we tend to narrow our search to a handful of choices that are reasonably close to home. Many of our customers think of Minnesota's "North Shore" (the Minnesota shoreline on Lake Superior between Duluth/Two Harbors and the Grand Marais area) as a basis for comparison with the Apostle Islands (Bayfield and Madeline Island).
My preference is to look to the east end of the State of Wisconsin as … (0 comments)

bayfield: Mainland Agent Tells Client There's No Market for Homes over $200,000 - 12/31/13 01:20 AM

Mainland Agent Tells Client There's No Market for Homes over $200,000

I received a phone call from a frustrated waterfront homeowner last week, who related the following story to me. Her home on Lake Superior hasn't sold, hasn't had a single showing in the past year. And when she asked her Bayfield, Wisconsin area listing agent why, the agent replied, "there's no market for your home". The listing agent reportedly went on to claim that "nobody's buying anything over $200,000 this year".

No market?

Nobody's buying over two hundred thousand??

That's utter nonsense.

Wouldn't it be … (2 comments)

bayfield: 34970 Highlander Dr, Bayfield WI - Offered by Madeline Island Realty - 05/05/13 01:26 AM

34970 Highlander Dr, Bayfield WI - Offered by Madeline Island Realty

Extraordinary Lake Superior views from all levels make this Apostle Highlands golf course home a stand-out among Bayfield homes currently on the market.
34970 Highlander Drive, in Bayfield, Wisconsin delivers premium features seldom found in vacation homes, including a dramatic large kitchen with trussed beamed ceilings, granite countertops, premium cabinetry and appliances. There's a large, cheery fireplace in the living room with natural stone surround, a master bedroom suite overlooking Lake Superior with masterful scale and décor, plus an elegant master bath with an outstanding view, plus twin sinks, … (0 comments)

bayfield: Appraisers Look to NorthstarMLS for Madeline Island & Bayfield Comps - 04/24/13 02:29 AM

Appraisers Look to NorthstarMLS for Madeline Island & Bayfield Comps

A well-known area appraiser contacted us last summer to learn more about recent home sales by Madeline Island Realty in LaPointe, Wisconsin.
The purpose of his contact email was to gather comparable sales for an appraisal in the Bayfield, Wisconsin area. He'd been searching on the SAAR (Superior Area Association of Realtors) MLS for sales in the immediate area and couldn't find enough suitable comparable sales there in order to support an appraisal.
I informed him that we upload our listings to NorthstarMLS in Minnesota and western Wisconsin, rather than … (1 comments)

bayfield: Does it Really Cost All that Much More to Build a Home on an Island? - 04/14/13 04:29 AM

Does it Really Cost All that Much More to Build a Home on an Island?

I've heard and read a fair amount of misinformation about how much additional cost is involved in building a second home on Madeline Island. This might be a good time and place to set the record straight.

Your costs will vary considerably, depending upon what type of construction you choose. Traditional "stick-built" homes cost more simply because they are more labor intensive. You'll need to find a construction crew (and probably offer them housing during the building process) for a period of several months. By … (0 comments)

bayfield: The Madeline Island Ferry Line Has Resumed Regular Ferry Boat Service - 04/07/13 03:35 PM

The Madeline Island Ferry Line Has Resumed Regular Ferry Boat Service

This past week, the Madeline Island Ferry Line resumed its regular ferry schedule between Bayfield, Wisconsin and Madeline Island. Trips resumed on Wednesday and passengers are making car ferry crossings again, a sure sign of spring.
Madeline Island merchants look forward to the resumption of these car ferry crossings with great anticipation. The ice road is fine for a time, and it saves Islanders money on ferry fees. But the resumption of ferry service means more tourist traffic. Cabin and cottage owners come up to the Island to open up their … (0 comments)

bayfield: 2334 Benjamin Blvd, LaPointe WI 54850 Listed by Madeline Island Realty - 02/02/13 02:48 AM

2334 Benjamin Blvd, LaPointe WI 54850 Listed by Madeline Island Realty
The owners of this Wisconsin Northwoods gem tell me that much of the building material that went into the home was "century-old barn wood that was transported across the winter ice road from Bayfield to Madeline Island in a horse trailer".
2334 Benjamin Boulevard is a cottage in the woods unlike any other. The home (and twenty-acre lot surrounding it) features "relaxation spots" throughout, with three cozy lofts, a balcony off the master bedroom, a swing on the front porch, a fire pit for cool Island evenings, and sunlit wooded meadows. The … (0 comments)

bayfield: What Happened to the "Weekend Tourist" Buyer? - 12/30/12 12:48 AM

What Happened to the "Weekend Tourist" Buyer?

I've been selling real estate on Madeline Island since 2000 and I was involved in buying and developing real estate there since the early 1980s. So I remember what local agents refer to as "the good old days" in the Madeline Island/Bayfield/Apostle Islands real estate marketplace.
One of the things I recall most vividly is something that my mentor in the real estate business, R. E. Waide used to say about tourist buyers. He'd point to the Madeline Island Ferry approaching the dock in LaPointe, Wisconsin and he'd say "here comes another boatload … (7 comments)

bayfield: We May be a Small Company, but We Had a Pretty Big Year in 2012 - 12/23/12 12:22 PM

We May be a Small Company, but We Had a Pretty Big Year in 2012

The end of any year is a particularly good time to count your blessings. And December of 2012 will be no exception.
As I look back on the past year, our company enjoyed success that exceeded expectations. One of our listings sold at a record high price for a broker-assisted sale on Madeline Island. Another of our Madeline Island real estate listings received an accepted offer in midwinter (at 98 per cent of the listed price), at a time of year when second homes rarely sell. And … (1 comments)

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