Dane County home prices increased once again in November. Here's our latest monthly update on the single family home market.  

Dane County home prices

Home prices in the month of November:

• The price per square foot increased by 7 percent compared to November of 2022.
• The average price increased by 9 percent. 
• The median price increased by 8 percent. 

Home prices through the first 11 months of the year: 

• The price per square foot increased by 5 percent during the first 11 months of the year. 
• The average price increased 7 percent. 
• The median price increased 5 percent. 

New listings

Prices remain high because listing activity remains low. A total of 262 Dane County homes were listed for sale in the month of

According to research by Buffini & Company, we have 8 major motivations for buying real estate: 

1) The desire to be close to family 

2) A need for more space

3) A realization that it's time to downsize 

4) Job relocation 

5) A major life change, such as a marriage, birth, death, divorce, or entering the workforce  

6) A desire to be in a different neighborhood 

7) A goal to invest in real estate 

8) A desire to own a vacation home 

What's motivating you to buy a home, condo, or investment property in 2024? We'd love to learn more about your needs and help you create a plan for your goals. Contact your preferred Mad City Dream Homes realtor to get started. We've helped hundreds of clients purchase real estate in our competitive

For the last 18 years, Dane County home building has been occurring at a subdued pace compared to the peak construction years in the early 2000's. This is one of ten reasons why we expect inventory to be low and prices to be high in 2024. For more info, check out this recent post. 

Thank you to Dominic Collar, who's been generously sharing his housing start data with us for the last 15 years. With Dominic's help, we've been able to stay on top of the new construction market and share our insights with you. We appreciate your generosity, Dominic! 

For many of us the holiday season is a time for reflection and resolutions. It's also the season when we start making our homeownership plans for the coming year.

What are your real estate goals for 2024?

Do any of these goals speak to you? 

#1) You have some home improvement projects in mind and you need recommendations for reputable contractors. You'd also like some insight into which home improvement projects offer the best return on investment.

#2) You've been dreaming of a new home and you need some guidance on how to make it happen. Inventory is tight right now, and you need help finding the home that's the right fit for your lifestyle and your stage of life.

#3) You'd like to meet with an expert about your home's current market

A little bird told us that prices will continue to rise in 2024, and here are the 10 reasons it gave us.

Why Dane County real estate prices will continue to rise

#1) Dane County’s rapidly-growing population 

#2) Our region’s continued economic growth

#3) Madison’s national reputation 

#4) Climate migration to the Madison area

#5) Significant pent-up demand from motivated buyers 

#6) Fewer people choosing to sell 

#7) A limited supply of new construction homes 

#8) A low supply of new construction condos

#9) Historically low levels of foreclosures  

#10) Rising costs for new construction  

Contact one of our full-time professionals for more insight into the 2024 market. We’re here to be a resource for you and help

Foreclosures were once a significant source of housing inventory in the Madison area, but those days are long gone. A lack of distressed property sales is just one of several key reasons why we anticipate low home and condo supply (and rising prices) for the foreseeable future. Stay tuned for much more info on this topic, coming to our blog real soon. 

Dane County home and condo listings edged a little higher in November, but in the big picture listing activity was still much lower than we'd like to see it. 

Here's how single family home listings trended in November:

Here's how condo listings trended:

Will more home and condo owners choose to sell in 2024? Stay tuned. We'll have plenty of timely updates to share with you in the months ahead.

The holiday season is one of the better times to be buying a home, and now lower mortgage rates are adding to the holiday the cheer. Rates for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage were recently in the range of 8 percent. Now, a 30-year mortgage is available for around 7 percent. 

Check out the chart and data below from the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which is updated each Wednesday.  

What questions do you have about buying or selling Dane County real estate? Call us whenever you need a little guidance and advice. We're here to help! 

Here are our tips for finding a great buyer agent in another market:

#1: Research agent reviews on Zillow and Google. Focus more on the written comments than on the numerical ratings. Look for agents who consistently receive high praise from grateful clients. 

#2: Review each agent's recent listings. Do the listings consistently display beautiful photos of well-staged properties? The quality of an agent's listings can offer insight into each agent's standards and level of professionalism. 

#3: Interview each agent and ask all of the questions that are most important to you. In the end we encourage you to follow your intuition and choose the agent who you believe will offer you the best working relationship. 

Of course you can also ask your Mad

We'd like to offer a special thank you to Just Bakery, which recently baked 200 Thanksgiving pies for our clients and friends. Mad City Dream Homes purchased the pies from Just Bakery as part of our annual "thank you" event. 

As many of you know, Just Bakery is a local initiative that helps people who are experiencing significant barriers to employment with opportunities to gain vocational skills and valuable work experience. All bakery proceeds are reinvested back into the program, which allows Just Bakery to invest in more training and employment opportunities for more people. 

We'd also like to say thank you to all of you who support our team and give us the opportunity to pursue meaningful work each day. We sincerely love what we do, and for