We have a new listing coming up at 6577 Matz Rd in Dane, Wisconsin. It's a beautiful 3-bedroom home that sits on an acre of land just 15 minutes from Madison's West Side. The house is beautiful, but the views are truly breathtaking. That's why we've called on talented photographer, Zac Albrecht, to take pictures of the landscape surrounding the property. This home offers million dollar views, and Zac has done a wonderful job capturing them. Below are a few photos which will be appearing soon in our upcoming listing.

Professional Landscape Photos - 6577 Matz Rd, Dane, WI

This first photo is taken from the back yard of the home - overlooking Baraboo Bluffs - with views that extend for miles and miles. Imagine the scenery this vista offers during the

You won't be "shushed" at Dane County libraries. Programs like beer-making, coloring for adults, and poetry writing are engaging patrons and creating new conversations. And while the library continues to be a key location for books and literacy, programs are expanding to include so much more. Tana Elias, Digital Services and Marketing Director for the Madison Public Library, says the library is growing as a place for hands on learning, with programs aimed at getting the community together, starting meaningful conversations and building new bridges.

An example of this is "The Bubbler," a hands on initiative launched with the construction of the new Madison Central Library. Current events on the Bubbler's page include an art car derby, an up-cycled tee

How's the market shaping up this year? Here are our 8 predictions for the 2016 Madison real estate market. 

Prediction #1: The Madison rental market will remain tight. 

Apartment vacancy rates will remain low, even though construction is booming with thousands of new units planned for 2016 and 2017. Dane County's apartment-hungry population continues to absorb new inventory, thanks in large part to the growth of Epic Systems and other local tech companies. The latest vacancy rate data from MG&E shows apartment availability is very tight. 

Prediction #2: Madison apartment rents will rise. 

A shortage of available rentals means rents will rise in 2016. And rising rents will force some apartment dwellers to choose home ownership over

With temperatures dropping again early next week, finding places to warm up and enjoy delicious food just might make the winter doldrums more bearable. Whether you're craving steak, home-style meals, ethnic foods or fine dining, Madison restaurants are featuring some of their best offerings for Winter Restaurant Week, starting Sunday.

Madison Magazine is the force behind Restaurant Week. The local publication already features regular coverage of area restaurants, but wanted to do more to feature local talent. Now in its 9th year, Restaurant Week will include fifty-one local establishments. Participating venues have signed on to offer 3 course meals, starting at $25 for dinner. "We want to encourage people to get out and try something different, at

Our most successful listings are those with a great spirit of teamwork. Our upcoming listing at Nichols Station Condominiums is a great example. Yesterday our real estate team met with Mr Seller's family and Debbie Lea from Showcase Home Stagers to prepare the condo for sale. We started at 9:00 AM and before we hit 11:00 AM the condo was 80% staged. Today, Mr Seller will purchase a few accessories, remove a few furniture pieces, and do a little touch-up cleaning before we arrange for our professional photographer to shoot the listing photos and video. 

"Hands On Staging" by Debbie Lea

Yesterday's 2-hour session was extremely productive as we worked together to implement Debbie's recommendations. During our time together I documented all of the

Right now there are many experts in the industry teaching agents how to capture leads and fill their prospect pipeline on demand. There are a lot of ways to go about this. Forcing registration on your website is one way to pump up the volume. “Buying leads” online is another. The basic premise is to purchase a lot of low-trust leads and put them through a systematic conversion process. The conversion process often involves placing many phone calls, emails and text messages to each lead over a period of time - until eventually a very small percentage of the leads are converted into clients. In other words, pour each prospect into a SPAM funnel until only the best ones come out. 

10 Days of Pain

As an example, there is one lead conversion plan in

Our real estate team just had a web expert complete an audit of our site. There were many excellent recommendations that came out of the audit, but the recommendation to “force registration” left a bad taste in my mouth. By “forcing registration”, the auditor is recommending we require people to give up their name, phone number and email address in order to view a property listing on our site.

It was explained in the audit that forced registration is an industry best practice - because it generates “more leads”. I disagree with this practice on a number of levels, but my biggest objection is forced registration just smells and tastes spammy to me.  

More Leads Does Not Equal More Trust

Sure, forcing registration is an easy way to “get more

Modesty is a likable trait, but when it comes to real estate it won't help buyers like your home. If you want your home to sell high and sell quickly, a little vanity can go a long way. Below we offer a few ways you can show the world why your home is the best buy in the neighborhood. 

See all of our home-selling tips here.

4 Ways to Brag about Your Real Estate Listing

1. Focus on looks by consulting with a professional home stager, hiring a professional photographer, and hiring a professional videographer. 
2. Write a compelling listing description that motivates buyers to call their agent and schedule a showing for your home. 
3. Advertise your home's improvements and upgrades. 
4. Document your home's features room-by-room.

In this post

When the Thanksgiving meal is over, and the dishes are done, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy all that Madison offers.  And for an alternative to Black Friday madness, you may want to make a few stops in Downtown Madison. The Edgewater Hotel has a weekend full of free activities for the whole family. On Friday, the recently renovated hotel will open its Ice Skating Rink, and fill the day with events, performances and activities for the whole family.  Beginning at 10 a.m., Bucky Badger, Peppy the Purgolder and Bruce the Spartan will be on hand to celebrate the ice skating season. There is no cost to skate the entire weekend, and skates can be rented for $3. 100% of the skate rental fee will be donated to the Keep Madison Warm/Cool Fund and the

For most home owners the definition of a successful sale is a real estate listing that sells quickly and for a high market price. The catch is a successful sale usually doesn't happen overnight. Rather, it's usually the result of a lot of advanced planning and preparation by both the listing agent and the client. 

So how can you plan for a successful sale of your own? You're bound to do well if you keep the "5 P's" of selling a home in mind. 

Preparing for a Successful Listing: The "5 P's" of Selling a Home

1. Price your home correctly from the start. 
2. Work with a professional home stager to ensure a great and lasting first impression.  
3. Enlist the services of a professional photographer for the very best listing photos. 
4. Use a