When the best of the best collaborate, good things are bound to happen. We recently watched this unfold with our Nolen Shore Condo listing, which drew multiple offers and accepted one above listing price in just 3 days.

This downtown high-rise overlooking Lake Monona is stellar on its own, but with the help of professional stagers and a photographer we were able to quickly transform this vacant property. "It demonstrates what can happen when you have all the right players involved to plan, execute, and manage a project," said Realtor Dan Miller.

Behind the scenes were stagers Debbie Lea and Karla Gones and photographer Justin Lackner, whose combined expertise helped make this condo shine. 

While most of our listings only use Debbie Lea,

As the weather continues to get colder, we're reminded that the holiday season is upon us. From getting photos with Santa to watching Christmas classics on the stage, the Madison area has plenty to offer in December.

Get Festive with Agora
When: 4-8 p.m. Thursday, December 7
Where: Fitchburg Center, 5500 E. Cheryl Pkwy., Fitchburg
What: Carriage rides, caroling, Santa, photo booth, shopping, luminaries
Cost: Free

Good Day Market Holiday Edition
When: 4:30-9 p.m. December 8 and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. December 9
Where: Madison Masonic Center, 301 Wisconsin Ave., Madison
What: Shop, explore, and savor Midwest goods from over 40 vendors
Cost: Free

Jingle Bell Run/Walk
When: 10:30 a.m. Saturday, December 9
Where: Verona Area High School, 300 Richard St., Verona
What:

This weekend, there is something for everyone in Madison. You can exercise, shop or just enjoy the scenery in town.

Run Santa Run:  A 5K for all ages, the Run Santa Run race takes place on and around the Capitol Square. Participants don their best Christmas costumes, and run or walk the course through downtown Madison, with stops for Christmas cookies, candy canes, candy kisses under the Mistletoe, and hot chocolate along the way.  Participants of all ages are welcome, and proceeds benefit local charities. Sign up Friday for discounted registration, or on Saturday between 11:30 and 1:30. The race begins at 2 p.m. Afterwards, there will be four after party options with soda for all participants and beer for adults. The Great Dane will also have live

Our buyer agent team includes 5 full-time real estate agents plus 4 administrative professionals who work together to serve our clients. Below are 5 reasons why our buyer clients appreciate our team-based customer service model. 

#1: Responsiveness

Your lead buyer agent is responsible for carrying out your home-buying plan. However, we also make our entire agent team available to you so you receive the timely service you need in today's fast-moving market.

For example, you may need to see a hot new listing ASAP before any other buyer has a chance to write an offer on it. If your lead agent is unavailable, that's not a problem. Another agent from our team will schedule your showing immediately so you don't miss out on the opportunity to

More surprises are revealed with every step you take on the property at 21 State St. Mazomanie, from gardens and a pergola to the mix of wooded and open land beyond the creek. Also tucked behind the stunning 1865 Victorian Italianate home is an old carriage house that has been skillfully converted to a second home.

Built in 1909, the barn had been turned into an art studio in the 1980s. Then while Dave and Karisa Friske were in the process of restoring the main residence into a bed and breakfast in the early 2000s, they also chipped away at converting the adjacent structure into their family's living quarters while retaining its essence.

"It had electricity, it had a furnace, but the upstairs was a barn ... and there was no running water," Karisa

The hot spring market seems to come a little earlier to Madison with each passing year, as buyers seek to get a jump on their competition. Last year the market really heated up in February, as can be seen in the graph below. 

Each bar on this graph represents a snapshot of the Madison single family home market taken mid-month. In February of 2016 only 35% of all single family home listings were under contract with an accepted offer. In February of 2017 the percentage jumped to 51%. In other words, if you were searching for listings online in February of 2017, over half of the listings you viewed were already spoken for and scheduled to close soon. The market stayed this tight all the way through the month of June.

2018 will be another low

After a rush of post-Thanksgiving shopping events, from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, the focus turns to giving rather than getting today. Each year more people join the Giving Tuesday movement to help others through the gift of their time, donations, goods, or voice, according to www.givingtuesday.org.

There are countless local, national, and global organizations to support, and each have their respective merits. This year, our team has made a commitment to giving back to area parks by partnering with the Friends of Dane County Parks Endowment.

You may have seen some of our blog posts and photos of several Dane County parks, forests, and trails this fall, including the new Lower Yahara River Trail that connects Madison to McFarland, the

This year we're getting a jump on our annual predictions for the Madison real estate market. Without further adieu, here our real estate predictions for 2018. (For a look back at last year's predictions, check out this post.)

#1: New home and condo construction will remain low. 

New apartment buildings continue to pop up all over the city. Meanwhile, single family home housing starts have plateaued in 2017, while new condo construction remains almost non-existent. All signs point to more of the same in 2018.

#2: The foreclosure pipeline will be nearly empty. 

Madison area foreclosures are at a 16 year low, which means distressed property listings will be relatively rare in the coming year. 

#3: Housing demand will remain strong. 

If you enjoy spending time in or around water, you'll be right at home in the Mariners Cove Condos. It truly is a "mariner's paradise," said Judy Wagener.

While Judy and her husband, Walt, used to sail together, they decided to buy a pontoon boat when they moved here to take more friends out on Lake Mendota -- especially since a boat slip is included in the condo fees.

"The boating life was a big draw for us ... and it's an easy walk to the docks," she said.

There is year-round water activity here, from water skiing or ice skating on the lake to kayaking the Yahara River toward Cherokee Marsh.

And the same is true at the condos, where you'll find people swimming in the indoor and outdoor pools. People seem to congregate in these spaces,

We recently added a view of the cash buyer market to our monthly home and condo reports - and the results provide some interesting takeaways for both buyers and sellers. Here's a quick summary of our findings. 

Cash offers are common in the condo market. 

Overall, 1 out of every 5 Madison condo sales through the month of October have gone to cash buyers. This is below the historical high of 26% in 2012. Cash offers peaked 5 years ago when Madison condo prices bottomed out. 

Takeaway: Based on current market trends, buyers and sellers should expect at least one cash offer whenever multiple offers are submitted for a condo listing. 

Cash offers are most common with higher priced condo listings. 

Baby Boomers are the key drivers of this