For Shelley Lazzareschi, helping her clients stage their home has become a passion that sets her apart as a professional in our field. Working alongside her partner in crime, Debbie Lea, Shelley invests an amazing amount of hands-on support as she helps her clients prepare their home for the market.

Very often this means she's donating her own furniture, artwork, accessories, and bedding for the benefit of her clients. With her eye for design and through her own hard work, Shelley has developed a reputation on our team for transforming properties into beautiful, showcase listings. 

Shelley's staging collection has grown tremendously over the years -- so much so that she now rents a storage facility to house all of her supplies. And her inventory

We've all heard stories of this year's hot real estate market and about properties selling for way over the list price. According to the latest stats from the South Central Wisconsin MLS, Dane County single family homes are selling for an average of 1.9% above the list. For Mad City Dream Homes clients, the results are even stronger. So far this year our single family home listings are selling for 4.9% above the list price. 

The bottom line

On the whole, Mad City Dream Homes clients are receiving 3% more above the list price than the typical seller in Dane County. Put another way, for the typical $400,000 listing, our clients are netting $12,000 more toward their bottom line. This is more real life proof that skilled staging, pricing, marketing,

This spring it's not uncommon for listings to receive as many as 10, 20 or sometimes even 30 offers. And when this happens the offers become extremely competitive. Of course buyers are competing with their offer price, but they're competing in some other key ways, too. Here are 4 key terms that many winning offers share when the bidding is especially fierce. 

The most competitive offers in 2021

Buyers are waiving their home inspection contingency. When the competition is especially fierce, some buyers are choosing to forego a home inspection. This isn't something that we advise our buyer clients to do. Nonetheless, offers without home inspection contingencies are relatively common when listings attract a dozen or more offers. 

Buyers are

NAMI Wisconsin is the state affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, which has 28 local affiliates across Wisconsin who serve their communities. The local NAMI affiliates offer support groups, resources, and classes to help people living with a mental illness, family, friends, and providers, whose goals are to improve the quality of life and care of those navigating the mental health system.

Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental illness. During the month of May, NAMI Wisconsin joins the national movement to raise awareness about mental health right here in our Wisconsin communities. Each year the nonprofit fights stigma, provides support, educates the public, and advocates for policies that support

Congrats to Jake Johnson and his buyer clients who just negotiated an accepted offer for $30,000 below the list price. These days we hear so many stories of properties selling for $30,000 over the list, but this transaction is a great reminder that every negotiation is unique -- even in this year's low inventory, seller-friendly market. 

In this case Jake demonstrated a solid grasp of local market conditions while using his communication skills to build rapport with the sellers and negotiate a favorable outcome for his clients. Needless to say, Jake's clients are ecstatic!

Jake, we appreciate how you represent your clients at such a high level as you capably guide each buyer to their dream home.

For those of you who are in need of a great buyer

Did you know that many of the listing photos we see online are actually produced overseas? Sure, the pictures are taken by a local photographer. But what many people don’t know is that in many cases the photo editing is outsourced overseas before the final images are published online.  

The same goes for virtual staging. Many of the virtually staged images that we see online are actually produced by people who live halfway around the world. 

From an economic perspective, this approach to photography is beneficial to the consumer. It leverages cheap, overseas labor to efficiently deliver an affordable product. 

But in the bigger picture it comes at a cost -- because it bypasses an opportunity to create meaningful work and support our economy right

Here's our snapshot of the latest Dane County condo trends, as well as some guidance for buyers and sellers on how to navigate this year's unique market. If you are planning to buy or sell a condo in 2021, please reach out to us for a helpful conversation. As always, we're never too busy to learn about your goals and share our guidance and advice. 

New Dane County condo listings

Excluding last April's numbers -- which were the result of the pandemic shutdown -- new MLS condo listings were at the lowest level since 2002. 

Condo supply and percent of listings with accepted offers

As of May 5th, only half a month of condo supply was available for sale in the Madison area -- which is the lowest level we have seen in our market. Overall, 71% of

Our home selling clients continue to experience tremendous results in 2021. Here are four examples from this spring that show how skilled staging, pricing, marketing, negotiation -- and great teamwork -- are helping our clients attract some very clean offers and some amazing prices.

231 S Musket Ridge Drive

Listed for $250,000 and sold for $270,000 -- $20,000 above the list. 

3130 Dorchester Way #3

Listed for $250,000 and sold for $275,750 -- $25,750 above the list. 

10 Chelsea Ct

Listed for $285,000 and sold for $315,100 -- $30,100 above the list. 

5930 Mayhill Drive

Listed for $295,000 and sold for $330,000 -- $35,000 above the list. 

What do sellers want most in this year's market?

They want a great price,

Home building is proving to be a good option for some Madison area home buyers who are opting for a new construction home in one of the area's emerging neighborhoods. The appeal is two-fold. Buyers get to choose their own customizations and finishes. Plus it can be easier to purchase a brand new home due to less competition in the new construction market.

If you've been challenged by our low inventory market, evaluate your options and check out the properties available in some of the area's newest subdivisions. Who knows, you might find just what you're looking for in a new construction home.

Thinking of buying or building a new construction home? Here's our overview of over 50 emerging neighborhoods in the greater Madison area. Contact us to

Low inventory and rising prices continue to be the dominant themes in the Madison area real estate market. Here's our latest snapshot covering the month of April, 2021.

New MLS listings

Outside of last April's numbers (which were the result of the COVID shutdown), new MLS listings entered the market at the slowest pace since the year 2000. On a year-to-date basis, Dane County listings are down 10% from the year before. 

Inventory and percent of listings with accepted offers

As of May 5th, only half a month of single family home inventory was available for sale in Dane County -- which is the lowest level we have ever seen in our market. Overall, 67% of all listings are under contract with an accepted offer. The market for homes priced