There is an old joke in the real estate business about the "three P's of selling a home". The first P is put a sign in the yard. The second P is place the listing on the MLS. The third P is pray another agent sells it.

Praying can't hurt, but a yard sign and the MLS are proven tools for marketing a home. A yard sign lets all passersby know your home is for sale. The MLS syndicates your listing to thousands of websites across the globe. However, a solid home-selling plan does much more than rely on a yard sign and MLS syndication. A solid marketing plan takes a much more comprehensive approach by selling the many benefits of your home.

One Big Drawback of the MLS

One big drawback of MLS syndication is the limit placed on descriptive text. The MLS

Maybe it's the long winters that make Madison a huge city for summer swimming. Or perhaps it's the many lakes that create a love for all things water. But for years, the city has made it onto Speedo's top 10 list for swim cities. This year, Madison is ranked number 6 on Speedo's list. Speedo includes Madison because it has at least 24 pools available for water recreation- that's more than double the number found in other similar size places. In addition, the city boasts one of the largest outdoor swim meets in the nation: All City Swim and Dive. Thirteen area pools participate in this meet, while providing a sense of community, family recreation and competition for budding swimmers.

All City Swim and Dive takes place again this year, July 27-August 1.

This weekend at the Dane County Farmer's Market, watch for hundreds of racers, in costume, as they carry watercraft from one lake to another. Or, if you're brave enough, sign up and join the fun at the 36th annual Paddle and Portage, sponsored by Isthmus.

With Lake Mendota sitting to the north, and Lake Monona to the south, you couldn't find a better course for such an event. Paddlers race through one lake, carry their watercraft across downtown Madison, and then race through the other. Costumed contestants, parent/child combinations and hard core racers all make their way to Paddle and Portage. The spectacle of so many costumed racers is worth the trip downtown, as is the live music, food, craft beers and vendors at Olin Park.

This year, the event

You can have a luxury listing without having a luxury home. All you need is the right team of professionals and a solid marketing plan backing you every step of the way. At Mad City Dream Homes, we offer you the expertise of our professional stager. Our stager guides you through your home preparations until your property is camera-ready. When your staging is complete, we bring in our professional photographer to shoot your listing photos. The end result is magazine-quality photos like the ones below.

The pictures below come from a variety of listings we've sold over the last few years. These photos represent properties that sold for less than $100,000 to well over $1,000,000. Whether you're selling a small condo, a luxury home on the lake, or a

Staging your home is the single best investment you can make prior to putting your property up for sale. Professional staging enhances your listing photos, your listing video, and your showing activity. It leads to better first impressions - both online and in-person. All of this leads to more offers, a quicker sale, and a higher selling price for your home. 

We hire a professional stager to consult with each client well before each listing hits the open market. As you will see from the "before" and "after" photos below, the results are truly amazing. These real-life examples come courtesy of home stager extraordinaire, Ronna Nyman.

Ronna met with our clients and developed a detailed staging plan for their home. Our clients took Ronna's advice to