Here's how Dane County single family home inventory is trending:

Available listings are up year-over-year, which is a result of fewer people buying in 2023. It's important to note that inventory is still very low from an historical perspective, and we're expecting supply to remain low and prices to remain strong for the foreseeable future. Right now there are only .8 months of inventory available in all of Dane County.

And here's the trend for condominiums:

There are actually fewer available condos for sale right now than there were a year. One of the big reasons for low condo supply is that very few new construction condos have been built over the last 15 years. Right now, we have only .6 months of condo supply available across the whole

Here's our latest update for the Madison area single family home market, covering the month of March, 2023. 

Competing offers

Our preliminary data for the month of February shows that 48% of the homes that went under contract in February received multiple offers. This is a very high percentage for this time of year -- just below last February's record of 50% -- and points to more rising prices in the months ahead. These high numbers show that we still have a large pent-up demand for real estate here in Dane County. 

New MLS listings

One of the reasons competition is so high, is because the number of new listings entering the market is so low. Right now, new MLS listings are entering the market at the slowest pace on record.

Dane

We're really looking forward to our new listing in Hill Farms! For the last 7 months we've been working on staging, capturing photos and video, and rounding out our marketing.

We're excited for our clients and for the rewards that they're about to reap, thanks to their focus on the fundamentals and their decision to plan ahead.

We'll have much more to share about this one real soon. 

We'll be publishing our Dane County single family home report real soon. In the meantime, here's our latest look at home prices in the Madison area. 

Price per square foot, average price, and median price

Madison area home prices continued to rise in the month of March, and by all measures. The price per square foot rose to $217, up 4% from the year before. The average price rose to $482,939 (up 10%). And the median price rose to $426,500 (up 8%).

Prices by price range

This chart shows Dane County home prices by percentile, from the 10th percentile all the way up to the 90th. As the graph shows, March home prices are up at every point along the price spectrum -- at the low end, at the mid-range, and at the high-end, too.

The

Artificial intelligence will be changing the world of real estate in many different ways, with some of these changes already beginning to take shape. Here are just a few them. 

Online content

One of the biggest changes that we'll see is an explosion of AI-generated content. News stories, advice articles, advice videos, social media posts, and online ads. It won't be long before a majority of the content that we encounter online, not just real estate content, is produced by AI. 

Administrative support

Another big change that we'll encounter is in the area of administrative support. In many cases, the online support person who schedules our property showings and answers our questions won't be a person at all. It will be AI. 

Analytics

Buyers have become more discerning in 2023, which means it’s time for sellers to get back to the basics. If you’re planning to sell your Madison area home this year, you’ll do yourself a huge favor by embracing these 5 fundamentals.  

The five home-selling fundamentals

1) Consult with an expert on your home’s current market value.

2) Address the repairs and cosmetic updates that add instant value and appeal.

3) Professionally stage your home. 

4) Choose a professional, polished, and comprehensive marketing plan.

5) Hire a realtor who you know you can trust with your negotiation.

When you follow these 5 fundamentals, you’ll be addressing everything you need for a smooth and successful sale. And based on our experience, your sale will

Installing new flooring can be a wonderful way to transform your home and increase its market value, as many of today's flooring products are beautiful, durable, and affordable, too. 

If you've been thinking of upgrading the flooring in your home, we recommend giving Dave Wilka from Floors for Less a call at 608-616-2118. Dave has proven to be an excellent resource for many of our clients, and we think you'll find Dave to be knowledgeable and reliable, as well. 

Do you need help with any other type of project around your home? Please reach out to our realtor team for a referral to a trusted contractor. It would be our pleasure to assist you. 

We recently reported in our February real estate update that home-building activity in Dane County is down by roughly 40% from the peak construction years in the early 2000's.

BUT, what we didn't cover in our report is that the value of the average new construction home continues to move higher. In fact, for the first time ever, the average new construction home value is now over $500,000. This is according to a recent report by Dominic Collar from MTD Marketing Services, based on his historical review of building permits here in Dane County. Note, these numbers for January and February are based on relatively small sample sizes and will fluctuate throughout the year. 

The trend toward higher new construction home values is one more reason why

If you've been thinking about a new look for your kitchen, you've probably been thinking about replacing your kitchen cabinets. Our team recently met with local business owner Dale Tomalin, who showed us a more cost-effective approach than replacement, and we were impressed by the finished product. 

Dale is the franchise owner of Spray-Net of Southern Wisconsin, creators of a painting technology that is flexible enough to avoid cracking, hard enough to avoid chipping, and smooth enough for washing. Dale's product transforms old kitchen cabinets by giving them a brand new, factory finish look. His work also comes with a 15-year transferable warranty. 

For more information, you can check out Dale's reviews on his Google Business Page. And for a

If you're thinking of becoming a first-time homeowner in 2023, it can be helpful to think of your home-buying experience as your opportunity to "get your foot in the door". 

In other words, the home you buy this year may not be your perfect home, in your perfect location, and at your perfect price. But it can be the home that helps you "get your foot in the door" for creating a better life -- and building a stronger foundation.  

Just by paying your mortgage each month, and by making the right improvements, you can start building equity right now that will help you move up to your next home a few years down the line. This is the perspective that many of our clients are adopting in 2023, and it’s this mindset that’s helping them experience their