As we shared in a recent article there is still time to sell your Madison area home before the snow starts flying. And even if you don't plan to sell until 2020, this fall is the perfect time to start working on your sale. Here are a few things you and your listing agent can work on right now in preparation for your upcoming listing. 

Planning and preparing for your real estate listing

1) Learn your home's current market value

Mad City Dream Homes will complete a market analysis for you and help you understand your home's value on the open market. At the same time we'll share our recommendations for minor cosmetic updates which will help you sell your home quickly and for top dollar. Of course we'll re-visit your market analysis once your

The fall season is a real estate market unto itself, with its own unique dynamics and opportunities. Below we share a few aspects of the autumn market that are good for buyers and sellers to know. 

Opportunities for buyers in the fall market

Right now is a great time to be shopping for a home, and here are two big reasons why:

There are fewer buyers to contend with in the fall

Take a look at this chart below, which shows Dane County buyer activity throughout the calendar year. Right now there are roughly 40% fewer offers being accepted compared to the peak months of March, April, May and June. The pace of the market is slower in the fall, and easier on buyers. 

There are fewer multiple offer situations and bidding wars in the fall

At Mad City Dream Homes, we implement a customized marketing plan for all of our home-selling clients. This philosophy allows us to produce some amazing marketing campaigns for our sellers, in particular for our clients who own a luxury home or condo. Below we share a marketing plan from Chris Venden and a few marketing examples from one of her recent luxury listings. Chris's listing attracted competing buyers, including an offer from one buyer who wrote a very strong offer for above the list. 

Marketing plan for a recent luxury listing

Mad City Dream Homes implemented all of the marketing strategies below. All marketing costs were paid for by our real estate team, which is the standard for all of our listings.   

Unlimited support from

In this short question and answer topic we cover inspections and appraisals, and whether or not sellers are advised to attend. 

Can I attend my buyer's inspection? 

A home inspection is conducted by a licensed home inspector in order to assess the physical condition of the property. We generally advise our selling clients to vacate their property during the home inspection so the buyer, buyer agent, and inspector can speak freely about any issues that are found during the inspection. This is the commonly accepted etiquette in our market. If questions arise during the inspection which the seller is capable of addressing (for example, when was the furnace last serviced or the roof last replaced), these questions can be addressed shortly after the

Every client with a home to sell has a unique property and unique goals. Because of this we treat each new listing as a unique and individual project. Our project-based approach allows us to exercise our creativity and professional judgment as we help our sellers make the most of their individual situation. 

Such was the case with our recent condo sale at Mariners Cove. Our clients lived out of state and needed a full-service team who would assume responsibility for their sale and produce a showcase listing for their property. They hired Shelley Lazzareschi to list and sell their condo, and Shelley did not disappoint. Below we share a few elements from Shelley's marketing plan, which led to the highest sales price ever within the association. 

Sometimes your life’s work happens almost by accident. For Doreen Meland, designing and staging homes came naturally, even before she knew it could be a business. “I didn’t know I was doing it, but I was. A Realtor came through our home, and asked if I staged homes. After thinking about it, I decided it would be fun. My business has grown from there,” she says.

Doreen’s work covers a broad range of projects. She has a natural ability for interior design, and is a gifted landscaper. Both interior and exterior projects fill her portfolio.  She has helped clients efficiently stage their homes for sale. But she has also worked with clients who require a more thorough decluttering.

Doreen loves organizing. Recently, she assisted clients who needed to

We all know there is a seasonal aspect to the market and the spring months typically are the best months for sellers in the Madison area. However, there are some Dane County properties which are always in high demand and can sell quickly any time of year. Below we share 10 different types of properties in the Madison area that benefit from a perpetually strong market. 

Hot properties in the Madison area

1) Condos priced under $250,000

The shortage of affordable housing in Dane County has many buyers standing on the sidelines waiting for the right condo to be listed for sale. A nice condo priced under $250,000 is always a hot commodity in our low inventory market. 

2) Homes priced under $350,000

Single family homes priced under $350,000

Is to make you proud of how your property is presented to the general public. If we can make you proud of your listing, then we know our marketing plan is on the right track. Here are 3 basic ways we work to make you proud of your MLS listing: 

1) Capture beautiful listing photos. 

Capturing beautiful photos begins with the home staging process. Remember, we provide your staging services free of charge by connecting you with the best stager in the business, Debbie Lea. Once your staging is completed, we partner with the best real estate photographers in Madison to create the photos for your listing. We don't have a set budget for our photos, and we'll do whatever it takes to capture the very best pictures of your home. If needed, we'll schedule

The Mad City Dream Homes team works in a unique way. While many Realtors work independently, our team works together, combining our unique skills and abilities to best serve clients’ needs.

Our buying and selling team

Tammy Steiner serves as a showing agent. She makes her schedule available, days, nights and weekends, to make sure buyers can attend showings as soon as properties are listed. “In this market, getting in the door quickly can be the key to actually finding, and getting an accepted offer on your property of choice,” she said.

Shelley Lazzareschi, Dan Miller, Maureen Moran and Chris Venden fill the roles of all-around agents.  Any member of the team is available to bring clients to showings, coordinate contracts, and provide

We loved working on our most recent west side listing, which just sold yesterday to a new home owner. This listing was actually a project that we had been working on for a long, long time. It all started almost 4 years ago when we hired a photographer to capture exterior photos of the property. We knew we'd use the photos someday - we weren't sure when - so we collected some nice exterior pictures on a beautiful summer day. 

Working proactively for a successful listing

We were optimistic our clients would experience a successful sale due to all of the great work they had been putting into their listing. Here are a few of the things we worked on together over the last few months and years. 

• First, we kept our clients up-to-date on the