Getting ready to sell your Madison area home or condo? There are many different factors that will influence the success of your real estate marketing plan. One of the most important of factors is how your home presents online. Remember, over 90% of all buyers first learn about a listing by viewing it on the internet, and the number one reason buyers use the internet is to evaluate a listing's aesthetic appeal.

This means your staging and your professional photos are two critical elements that will play a huge role in the overall success of your sale. They'll greatly influence the number of showings that your listing receives, the amount of time that your home is on the market, and the price at which your home sells.

Below are some examples of high

You're not alone. Verona real estate is in high demand. Home sales are off to a good start in 2013 after increasing by more than 25% in 2012. With just over 5 months of inventory, many homes in Verona are selling quickly. Verona building contracts are on the rise, too.

What makes Verona WI homes so popular?

Many buyers appreciate the city's small town charm and convenient location just outside of Madison. Verona is also home to Epic Systems, one of South Central Wisconsin's largest employers. Many of the employees from this fast-growing company choose to lay down their roots in Verona, where there's a diverse selection of mid-century and new construction homes.

We expect 2013 to  be a good year for Verona home sellers. With lower inventories and

This weekend I came across this sign at the intersection of Midvale Blvd and Mineral Point Rd on Madison's near west side. This intersection is surrounded by the Westmorland, Sunset Village, Hill Farms and Midvale Heights neighborhoods. It's an interesting place to post a sign targeting distressed sellers. The near west side is Madison's most stable real estate market, where the home values have held up amazingly well, even through the worst of the real estate downturn.

Most sellers on the near west side are far from distressed. Sellers on this side of town benefit from a strong demand for a limited supply of homes. With the Spring market right around the corner, the buyers will be out in full force very soon, and many of them will be targeting

What makes Madison, Wisconsin original and unique? The neighborhoods. Madison is home to an amazing variety of local settings, each with its own identity and character. There is no better example of this than the neighborhoods on Madison's Near East Side. Authentic. Ecclectic. Urban. Unique. All of these terms have been used to describe the neighborhoods on the Near East Side of Madison.

The real estate on Madison's Near East Side dates back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. With homes lining Madison's Isthmus and the city's two iconic lakes, the setting of the Near East Side is like no other in Madtown.

The Near East Side is home to Lake Mendota, Lake Monona, Atwood Avenue, "Willy Street", James Madison Park, and Olbrich Gardens. It's the unique

The houses for sale on the north side of Madison offer the most home for the money compared to the real estate in any other side of town. As you'll see from the graph below, the north side "price per square foot" for single family homes was only $93 in 2012. This represents a 27% decrease from the peak year of 2006, when the average was $128 per square foot.

Many of the homes on Madison's north side were built in the middle of the century, a time when many high-quality, moderately-sized houses were constructed. If you're a buyer seeking an old-fashioned bungalow or ranch-style house at a reasonable price, the northeast side of town offers a good selection of real estate for your review.

Today's lower prices, low interest rates, and rising rents are

Many Madison area home buyers gravitate toward bank owned properties and short sale listings. In the right situation, an REO or short sale property can offer the prospective buyer an incredible value. We've assisted many clients with their purchase of a foreclosed home or condo, and we've seen our buyers achieve some amazing deals. But there are some caveats related to buying foreclosures in Madison. If you've been thinking of buying a distressed property, here are five things for you to keep in mind.

Before you Buy, Keep these 5 Things in Mind:

1. Distressed properties represent only one piece of the market, and the supply of foreclosures is decreasing. If you limit your search to REOs and short sales, you're missing out on the possibilities that

Searching for a Madison home or condo? Our new polygon search tool allows you to customize your property search according to the boundaries that you define on our MLS map.

Our polygon search works in conjunction with all of the other search settings that we make available, so you can customize your search by property type, price range, and size - along with the map boundaries that you specify. Even better, you can save your polygon search settings and receive email updates new listings hit the MLS and when existing listings undergo a price change.

Try our property search now. Or sign up for our home finder, and we'll locate your properties and coordinate your showings for you. We're here to help!

Downtown Madison condos are on the rebound. Prices in Madison's Downtown dropped by 20% from 2006 to 2011. In 2012, Madison buyers responded to lower prices and returned to the downtown condo market in a big way. As you'll see from the graph at the bottom of this post, the price per square foot actually increased in 2012, as the market settled into a much better balance between supply and demand.

This is welcome news for buyers and sellers alike. Sellers have been waiting for a bottom to the condo market, while buyers have been seeking some reassurance that their investment will hold its value over time.  Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have about condos in Downtown Madison, Wisconsin. We can help you better understand the

Buying a home in the Madison area and in need of a loan? We've worked with hundreds of buyers over the years, and we've collected their feedback about the lenders who assist them with their mortgages. Over time we've developed a network of service-oriented lenders who are universally loved by their clients for their exceptional service. Each of these lenders has different strengths and areas of expertise, so we're happy to refer you to a lender who is a good match for you and your specific situation. Just let us know how we can help!

One of our preferred lenders who consistently receives raving feedback is Great Midwest Bank, where John Schroder works out of the Odana Road office on Madison's west side. Below are a few reasons why our buying clients

Home values on the near west side have weathered the real estate downturn like no other area of Madison. Classic west side subdivisions like the Hill Farms, Westmorland, Sunset Village, Nakoma, and Dudgeon-Monroe neighborhoods have always been in high demand, and will continue to be highly coveted in the years ahead. 

Why is this side of town so popular? A large contingent of buyers prefers the construction from the early to mid 1900s, back when many local, highly-regarded architects left their imprint on Madison's real estate landscape . The near west side is also conveniently located near many of Madison's largest employers, including: UW Health, Meriter Hospital, St Mary's Hospital, the VA Hospital, CUNA Mutual, UW-Madison, and the State of