Our Ballpark Estimator is a free tool you can use to estimate the market value of your Madison area home or condo. In fact it offers one of several ways you can use our website to learn more about the real estate market in your neighborhood. How does it work? The tool itself is very simple. 

Ballpark Estimator: How it works

1. You enter the address of your Madison area home or condo, as well as the number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, and the finished square footage. 
2. The Estimator then presents you with a list of 12 recent sales in your area. 
3. You select 3 of the 12 properties that are most similar to yours. 
4. The tool then presents you with a "ballpark price". The ballpark price is based on the price per finished square foot of your 3

Our MLS map offers a great way to search for real estate in Madison, Wisconsin and the Dane County area. Here's a quick tip for using our map search tool:

When you launch our MLS map, click the Show Map icon on the right side of the page under the FIND YOUR HOME button. When you open up the map, it will automatically update the real estate listings as you move the focus of the map, zoom in, and zoom out.  

You can also use our polygon and radius search features to target specific geographic locations on our MLS map. And don't forget to click Save Search so you receive regular updates of new MLS listings and listings that have undergone price reductions. 

Need help with your real estate search in Madison? Sign up with our home

Are you in the market for a home or condo in the Madison, Wisconsin area? Our radius search tool makes it easy for you to customize your real estate search according to the area that you define on our MLS map.

Our radius search works along with the many other search settings that we make available - property type, price range, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, and size to name a few - so you can target your ideal property within the map location that you specify. What's more, you can save your radius search settings and receive email notifications new listings enter the MLS and when existing listings undergo a price reduction.

Give our map search a try now. Or sign up for our home finder, and we'll find your properties and set up your

Searching for open houses in Madison and the surrounding area is easy with our property search tools. Let's suppose you're interested in Middleton real estate, and you want an up-to-date view of the open houses planned for today. Here's how you can find all scheduled Middleton open houses in 5 quick steps.

5 Steps to all Middleton Open Houses

1. Go to our property Search page clicking the MORE OPTIONS toggle button in the search bar.
2. Click the Middleton checkbox under City.
3. Select Search Open House under the Open House search filter.
4. Enter your begin and end Dates in the Open House Date Range filter.
5. Click FIND YOUR HOME.

Our search tool then presents all of the scheduled open houses to you. Each listing is identified with an

Many of our Madison area home buyers target specific neighborhoods during their real estate search. Creating your own customized neighborhood search is easy at MadCityDreamHomes.com.

Here's how you can set up a simple neighborhood search using the Nakoma subdivision on Madison's near west side as an example.

Search By Neighborhood in 4 Easy Steps

1. Go to our property Search page clicking the MORE OPTIONS toggle button in the search bar.
2. Scroll down to the Subdivision field.
3. Enter Nakoma.
4. Click FIND YOUR HOME.

Then our search tool presents all of the neighborhood listings to you.

Remember, you can save your search settings and receive email updates when new neighborhood listings enter the market (and when existings listings

We've been working to create a website that provides you with the very best view of the Madison real estate market at the local and neighborhood level. We've added many improvements to MadCityDreamHomes.com over the last few weeks, including many enhancements to our detailed property views. Our newest feature is the addition of neighborhood market information, which includes a summary of recent sales, active listings, and active listings with accepted offers. 

Take a look at the example below which shows a neighborhood market summary for a home in the Hill Farms neighborhood on Madison's near west side.

• The blue home icons represent current listings in the area with an accepted offer (this status is assigned by the listing brokerage within the

One of our team goals for 2013 has been to create a second real estate website that you will value for years to come. Our first website, DaneCountyMarket.com, is recognized as a great local resource for no-spin information on the Madison area home and condo markets. Our focus for MadCityDreamHomes.com has been to create a Madison real estate resource with the best available view of the properties for sale at the local and neighborhood levels. We have more work to do, but we're well on our way toward achieving our goal. Here's a quick update on our plans for building you a better website for Madison Wisconsin real estate.  

5 Steps to a Better Real Estate Website

1. Create Madison property guides that provide an in-depth view of homes and condos at

In a world where "The Big Three" dominate much of the online real estate, can the local agent compete with the likes of Trulia, Zillow, and Realtor.com? The answer is a clear YES. The "local guy" can compete with the internet giants while growing a thriving business that is built for the long term. How can the local agent do it? By developing the right focus, providing the right services, and investing the necessary time and money to build a solid foundation for long-term success. In this post I share a few thoughts on developing the right focus.

Developing the Right Focus in the Era of The Big Three

1. Assess how you invest your time and your money. Take stock of how you spend your time and your money and ask yourself this question: Are you

Search by Condo Development

Let's say you're in the market to buy a condo in the Madison, WI area, we have some great property search tools to offer you. One of them is our tool that allows you to search all condos for sale by condo development.

As an example, let's suppose you are a buyer who is interested in the Coventry Condos near Hilldale Mall on the near west side of Madison. Simply select the appropriate boxes in our Condo Development search feature (see the example to the right). Our search tool will then display all of the condos for sale within the Coventry Condo community.

Search by Condo Project

Our Condo Project search filter offers an easier way to focus your search on a particular development. Simply enter a key word into

Let's suppose you and your agent have just listed your home on the MLS. You've followed these 5 tips for a strong listing, and you're off to a tremendous start. You've received 10 immediate showing requests and the early feedback is very positive. Buyers are loving your home; several are thinking of writing an offer. You like your odds for receiving a full-price offer, but can you leverage what you have into an accepted offer that is far, far above the list? Can your agent shoot for a price that is 3 percent above the list, 5 percent, or even more? The answer is yes, and here is how you agent can do it.

6 Tips for Negotiating the Highest Possible Selling Price

1. Be helpful and easy to work with. Buyers are generally open to negotiating with someone