The frenzy of the spring home-buying market has come and gone and now we've entered into a market that is a little more relaxed, with a little more inventory, and a little less competition. Have a look at this chart, which shows the typical, seasonal pattern for competing offers in Dane County. 

Competing offers are moderating right now, as they do every summer, so we're seeing more buyer and seller negotiations that include the traditional home inspection and appraisal contingencies. 

What questions do you have about the Madison area real estate market? We would love to be a resource for you and help you answer all of your questions. You know how to reach us. 

Here are 3 big reasons why most sellers choose to offer buyer brokerage compensation: 

#1) Most buyers still pay with a mortgage and need to allocate their cash toward their down payment. 

#2) In today's market, many buyers need a cash cushion so that they can waive the appraisal contingency and cover for a low appraisal. 

#3) And just as important, many buyers need a cash cushion to budget for future home repairs, instead of asking the seller to make inspection-related repairs. 

The bottom line: Buyers with more cash on hand are the ones who can offer a high price and write a clean offer without an appraisal or inspection contingency. So it's no surprise that it's the sellers who offer to pay the buyer brokerage compensation who tend to

Many older ceiling fans are big and bulky and can make a room feel crowded and dated. But many of the newer models are sleek and stylish and offer the perfect complement.

Would you like help selecting a ceiling fan for a room in your home? Please feel free to call us. Today's selection offers some beautiful and affordable designs, and we'd love to help you choose the right one. 

While we're at it, we can have a look at your like fixtures, too. 

(Photo by Step Inside Media with staging by Debbie Lea and Alan Feder)

Here's our May update on the Dane County condo market, covering 8 key trends impacting buyers and sellers. 

Dane County condo prices

For the first time in a long time, the price per square foot edged lower. Does this mean that local condo prices are falling? We don't think so.

Remember, prices can swing a lot from month-to-month due to the relatively low number of sales in the condo market. A few high-priced or low-priced transactions can have a big impact on the monthly numbers.

Tracking the overall trend is the best way to evaluate prices. With this perspective in mind, it's important to note that the Dane County price per square foot is up by 8 percent through the first 5 months of the year. 

Here are the May numbers for 3 different

Home prices continued to rise in the month of May, and by all measures. Here's our latest report and commentary on the Madison area single family home market. 

Dane County home prices

The price per square foot grew by 6 percent year-over-year, and by 7 percent year-to-date. 

Dane County home prices were up by all measures: 

• The price per square foot grew from $230 in May of 2023 to $244 in May of 2024 (an increase of 6 percent). 
• The average price grew from $519,479 to $550,576 (up by 6 percent). 
• The median price increased from $450,000 to $494,000 (up by 10 percent). 

New MLS Listings

Listing activity improved slightly in the month of May, but remained low compared to most other years this century. We expect home

Home and condo availability is quietly improving, and is better right now than it has been each of the last two summers. What's more, we expect selection to continue to improve throughout the summer and into the fall season, as it does every year.

Check out our latest inventory snapshots of the Madison area real estate market, and please reach out whenever you have questions. We're here to help. 

Dane County single family home inventory 

Dane County condo inventory 

More and more, I’m noticing businesses choosing to exercise their legal rights -- based on language that is spelled out in some sort of fine print. Sometimes it involves making demands for money, threatening to sue, or following through with a lawsuit. In other cases, it’s using the fine print as a justification to do substandard work. 

But before we exercise our legal rights, it might be helpful to think about how our own fears and actions might be contributing to the conflict. And how a conversation with the other party might help us come up with a long-term solution that is better for everyone. 

Sure, there are times when we absolutely need to exercise our legal rights. But we should also examine our own responsibilities before we resort to the

Many real estate teams attract new team members by offering them "leads" that are purchased from websites like Zillow and Realtor.com. Online leads can be attractive to agents because they offer the promise of a guaranteed income as soon as they join the team. 

But online leads do come with two big downsides. 

The first big downside is that online leads tend to be very expensive -- usually costing a few thousand dollars per transaction. And of course the second big downside is that online leads often end up being low-trust/low-loyalty clients -- due to the simple fact that they've been purchased rather than cultivated through an existing relationship. 

There is an alternative to buying leads, and that is the MCDH model of cultivating positive

If you've been thinking about modernizing your home's exterior, you've probably been thinking about replacing your siding, which can be a time-consuming and expensive project. We wanted to let you know that local business owner, Dale Tomalin, has a much more affordable and efficient solution than siding replacement. 

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 brick, vinyl siding, aluminum siding, doors, windows, and kitchen cabinets -- and comes in a variety of colors. We continue to receive excellent feedback about Dale and his work, which is covered by a 15-year

There's still a fair amount of confusion about the new federal rules impacting buyers and sellers. What you need to know is that the new rules mandate two changes in practice, which are expected to take effect in August. 

#1) In most cases, buyers will need to sign a buyer agency agreement before viewing a property with an agent. Even if you're not sure that you want to work with the agent for the long-term, you will need to sign an agreement. 

At Mad City Dream Homes, we have always believed that you should be able to "test-drive" our services before you decide to work with us for the long-term. For this reason we will continue to emphasize short buyer agency agreements -- agreements that are as short as a single day or that apply to only a single