This year is another year of low mortgage rates and low inventory in Dane County, so 2020 is already proving to be another very competitive year for local home and condo buyers. With this in mind, here are our do's and don'ts for buyers in this year's fast-moving market.

Three don'ts for Madison area buyers in 2020

1) Don't wait for the weekend open house to tour a property

Instead, rely on your buyer agent to schedule a private showing as soon as each property hits the market. Many properties are selling right away and aren't lasting until the open house. 

2) Don't call the listing agent to arrange a showing. 

By the time you reach the listing agent, there's a good chance the property is already sold to another buyer. You're better off

Now that the holiday season has passed, we're receiving a lot of calls from folks who want to discuss what they need to do to prepare for a successful sale. This is a fun time of year for us, because we're helping a lot of clients come up with a clear set of steps that will help them sell for top dollar in this year's hot spring market. 

Creating value with staging and cosmetic updates

Many of our clients are preparing for their sale right now by working with our stager, Debbie Lea. In many cases Grant Priehs, one of our favorite contractors, is also a part of the collaboration. These are proving to be incredibly productive meetings. Not only are we working as a team to create a great staging plan for each property, we're also implementing the

December was another solid month for Madison area real estate. Here's our latest summary of the single family and condo markets in Dane County. 

December home and condo sales

A record 464 single family homes sold in the month of December, an increase of 32% from the 352 homes sold in December of 2019. 

Condo sales were just below the sales levels from 2018 and 2017. 

December accepted offers

Single family home accepted offers were a tad lower compared to the prior December. 

Condo accepted offers were consistent with the levels from each of the last two Decembers. 

January months of supply

As of January 11th, only 1.4 months of single family home inventory are available for sale in Dane County. Supply is

The market is off to a fast start!

Even though it’s early in the year, our real estate team is very busy assisting our buying and selling clients. The market is definitely off to a faster start this year compared to 2019. In fact, we helped four of our clients receive accepted offers during the first week of January. One of those offers was accepted during the Rose Bowl!

If you know someone who’s planning to sell this year, please let them know right now is a great time to get started with their planning and preparation. Mortgage rates are low, inventory is low, buyers are buying, and the spring market is right around the corner. It’s shaping up to be another solid year for sellers in 2020. As always, all of us on the team are well-prepared to

If you’re planning to sell in 2020, right now is the perfect time to schedule a market analysis for your home. Dane County real estate prices have risen for seven straight years. And with strong demand and low inventory, they’re on course to rise for an eighth straight year in 2020. 

Another factor affecting home prices right now is the upcoming spring market. Properties listed in the springtime tend to receive the highest offers, because that's when multiple offers and bidding wars are most common. So if you're planning to sell in March, April or May of this year, it's possible your home is worth a lot more than you think. 

Schedule a complimentary market analysis for your home

All you need to do is reach out to your favorite Mad City Dream

Martin Menocal is more than a photographer; he's an artist. Martin's attention to detail and dedication to his craft are truly remarkable, which is why Martin is one of our preferred photographers. Here are just a few examples of Martin's work from some of our recent real estate listings. 

Interior photos by Martin Menocal

Exterior and outside photos

Photos are the most important part of every listing

A listing with beautiful photos receives more looks and clicks online, which leads to more requests for showings, more buyer competition, and a higher price on the sale of the home. Remember, we don't have a set budget for our listings. This philosophy allows us to work with the best