Here are our tips for finding a great buyer agent in another market:

#1: Research agent reviews on Zillow and Google. Focus more on the written comments than on the numerical ratings. Look for agents who consistently receive high praise from grateful clients. 

#2: Review each agent's recent listings. Do the listings consistently display beautiful photos of well-staged properties? The quality of an agent's listings can offer insight into each agent's standards and level of professionalism. 

#3: Interview each agent and ask all of the questions that are most important to you. In the end we encourage you to follow your intuition and choose the agent who you believe will offer you the best working relationship. 

Of course you can also ask your Mad

An effective negotiation isn't about winning and losing. It's about coming to an agreement that all parties can support.

But far too often a win-at-all-costs mentality ends up with both parties in a stalemate, and missed opportunity for everyone. Too many buyers and sellers fail to connect because they can't agree on how to address minor differences. 

There is a better way. By opening the lines of communication, seeking first to understand, throwing in a little sugar, and sprinkling in a little conversation, we create the conditions for a win-win agreement. 

Our 4 fundamentals for effective negotiation: 

Open the lines of communication: The more we communicate with the other party, and encourage communication in return, the more likely we'll

Usually we don't associate the months of November and December with buying a home, but the holiday season is actually one of the best times of year for buying Dane County real estate.

That's because there's less competition from other buyers in November and December, and some sellers become very motivated during the holiday season. Plus, new listings do enter the market each week, even when it's cold outside and when most people are focused on the holidays. Last, there's the added bonus of lower moving costs. Many moving companies offer better pricing when business slows each winter. 

Have you been dreaming about a new home? 

Give us a call and tell us more about your dream home. We'll send you a few listings to add to your wish list, and if

In just the click of a button, a website like Zillow will give you access to all of the latest listings in Dane County. But the thing is, in a fast-moving market like ours, a website like Zillow won't get you into your dream home. 

But a good plan with a skilled agent will. And a good plan always begins with a conversation. A conversation that centers on your goals and a clear set of next steps. 

Call us when you're ready for a conversation. We'd love to help. 

If you're looking for someone to bring the natural beauty and character back to your hardwood floors, we highly recommend giving Jeff Shunk from Imperial Wood Floors a call. Jeff is the owner/operator who follows through on his commitments and is onsite when the work is done. 

He and his team recently brought this oak flooring back to life for one of our clients, and Jeff's work was a key reason why our clients sold their home quickly and for the full list price. You can call Jeff at 608-274-2821 for your own free estimate. We enthusiastically endorse Jeff for his service, communication, and dedication to his craft. Thank you Jeff! 

Buying a home can be an emotional roller coaster. The excitement. The stress. It brings about lots of feelings. You start by looking at listings online then you schedule showings. You finally find that one… the home that spoke to you and your partner. Everything felt right. You wrote a strong offer and beat out several other buyers. Your agent negotiated great terms on your behalf. And finally, you close and settle into your new home. 

The home felt like a blank canvas when you first saw it. Fresh neutral paint colors, no personal effects, lots of open space, etc… As you took possession of your new home and move your belongings into it, you begin to make it your own. Over time the process continues. You make some updates, some big, some small.

When you look up information about today's real estate market, it is all too easy to find doom and gloom articles. Why wouldn't it be? Inventory nationwide is at historic lows, rents are increasing, wages have not kept up with inflation, and new homes are not being built fast enough to keep up with demand, creating a perfect cocktail of unaffordability. For us in real estate, we see it all too much. Buyers are being priced out of the market at a rate that is astonishing to even those who have been in the industry for 20-plus years. Being a Gen-Z realtor, it is scary… Will my generation be able to purchase a home by the time we are in our 30s?

We need to emphasize that, yes, it is intimidating to purchase a home right now; it is a scary thought and, for

It's a time of scarcity for Dane County real estate. 

A scarcity of land to build on. A scarcity of materials and supplies to build new homes. And a scarcity of labor to do the work. 

One thing that is not in short supply is the number of people moving to Dane County. Our population continues to grow, and the options for homeownership aren’t keeping pace. Given this, we expect home and condo inventory will remain low and prices will remain high for the foreseeable future.

So when will it be a good time to buy real estate? We believe the best time to buy is right now. Not a year or two from now. And not when interest rates fall. Hoping and waiting for a better time to buy when both rates and prices are lower is likely to end in disappointment.

For all of us who are homeowners, we are fortunate.

Fortunate to have a place of our own and to experience pride of homeownership. Fortunate to live with prosperity built through home equity. Fortunate to have the privilege of passing our prosperity on to the next generation. And fortunate for all of the help we have received along the way. 

Prices will continue to rise. 

So why not do everything we can to help others become homeowners, too? 

Here are 5 things we can do to help others achieve their dream of homeownership:

• Support and get involved with homeownership initiatives like Own It: Building Black Wealth.
• Help an individual or a family that is struggling to buy a home by offering our financial assistance.
• Promote the

You may have heard that mortgage rates recently jumped above 7 percent, which is more than double the rate from less than 2 years ago. 

And if you're like many other people, today's higher rates may have you thinking about putting your home-buying plans on-hold. And understandably so. 

But it's very possible you could be missing out on a real opportunity by deferring your goals. Because now that rates are higher, you have fewer competing buyers to contend with. And the competition and bidding wars will surely increase once rates fall again. 

So, if you're an aspiring buyer, here are two key questions we have for you: 

If you could find a nice home this year and if you could afford it by living within your means...And if you could picture