The holiday season has arrived, so it’s time to reflect on last year’s real estate predictions before we share our predictions for the coming year. As you’ll see below, our crystal ball was accurate with a few of our 2020 real estate predictions and off the mark with a few others.

Where our crystal ball got it wrong

Last year we predicted flat home sales when in fact sales have been rising. We predicted a 3% rise in prices, but prices have risen by more. In 2020 we anticipated an increase in expired listings and the days on market, but that has not been the case, either. We also predicted a decrease in competing offers, but that has failed to materialize, too. In short, the market has outperformed all of our expectations in 2020.

Where our

November and December are typically the two slowest months for real estate in the Madison area. Of course, this year has been anything but typical.

Although buyer activity does tend to slow during the holidays, we're still sensing strong interest from local buyers for this time of year. For example, check out the chart below, which compares the number of new monthly visitors to our website compared to the same month of the previous year. 

So far, through the first 23 days of November, our website traffic is up 20% from last year. If we use the number of new visitors to our website as a proxy for buyer interest, then interest in Madison area real estate is quite high for this time of year. Despite all of the political chaos and uncertainty in

The Dane County real estate market continued to exceed all expectations in the month of October. Here's our latest summary of the Madison area real estate market, for both single family homes and condos. 

Home and condo sales

Dane County single family home sales set a new record in October, increasing by 37% from last October, and by 5% year-to-date.

Condo sales nearly reached an all-time high. Closings increased by 30% in October and by 10% through the first 10 months of 2020.

Accepted Offers

Single family home accepted offers set a new record for the month of October. Based on this forward-looking indicator, we expect home sales to set a new record in the month of November, too.

Accepted offers for condominiums also set a

September was a great month for Madison area home and condo sellers, as the Dane County real estate market set a number of new records last month. Here's our short summary of the latest market trends from the month of September. 

The Madison area single family home market

New MLS listings increased by 16% in September and reached their highest level since 2008. 

Buyers responded to the new supply of listings by writing a record number of offers. Accepted offers increased by 27% year-over-year and set a new record for the month of September. 

Home sales also reached a new high and increased by 40% from last September. 

Madison area home prices set a new record last month, increasing by 9% year-over-year. 

The Madison area

We're getting asked this question a lot these days, and here's our take: Although there are no guarantees about the state of the market in 2021, we do know the Madison area real estate market is very favorable for sellers right now. Here's what we're seeing in the market as we approach the month of October. 

The fall real estate market in Madison, WI

For starters, mortgage rates are historically low, and buyers are buying. Dane County home buyers are writing offers at a much faster pace right now than they were during the same time period in 2019. 

Dane County home prices are trending favorably for sellers, too. Many properties are receiving multiple offers right now and selling for well above the list. Home prices are on pace to set

The Madison area real estate market continues to be very active at a time of year when listings and sales are typically slowing down. Here's a quick overview of the latest home and condo trends in Dane County. 

Dane County condo trends

New condo listings increased by 15% in the month of July, and buyers have responded by gobbling up the new supply. Accepted offers increased by 17% in July and 43% in August. As you can see from the graph below, AOs are trending much higher as we enter the month of September.  

Dane County single family home trends

The Madison area single family home market has also been very active. New single family home listings increased by 10% in July, and a record number of homes were placed under contract in July

It's been a crazy year to the say the least. A global pandemic. Political chaos. And economic uncertainty. Despite all of the chaos, the competition for Madison area real estate is at an all-time high in 2020. According to our latest review of MLS data, 34% of all Dane County home listings received multiple offers through the month of June. This is up from the previous high of 33% in 2018, and up from 26% in 2016, when we first started tracking this statistic. 

How competitive is the market by price range? 

Here's how the numbers shake out:

The very high number of competing offers this year shows there's a lot of pent-up demand for real estate in the Madison area. A lot of buyers are writing offers this year, and a lot of those buyers

The month of July is almost in the books, and our latest market snapshot shows Madison area home and condo prices keep on rising. As of July 26th, Dane County home prices were up 6% year-over-year and condo prices were up 3%. 

How much is your home worth right now?

We can help you understand your home or condo's current market value and recommend a few simple cosmetic updates that buyers will love, too. Just reach out to your preferred Mad City Dream Homes agent to schedule a short consultation. We'll help you prepare for a successful sale and eliminate much of the stress that so many sellers are experiencing in this year's COVID-19 market. 

For more information on local real estate prices, here's our July 26th snapshot

Madison area home

Dane County condo buyers were very active in the month of June as local condo prices continued to rise. Here's our latest snapshot of the Madison area condo market:

Accepted offers were up big-time in the month of June.

A total of 205 condo contracts were written in June, which was up 23% from last year. On a year-to-date basis, accepted offers are down by 1% from the first 6 months of 2019. 

This chart shows accepted offers by week. As the graph shows, new contracts decreased significantly in April, and then started trending higher in May and June. 

Condo prices rose once again in June. 

The June price per square foot was the highest on record. 

Condo sales increased by 8% in June. 

Madison area condo sales were lower by

June was another strong month for real estate in the Madison, Wisconsin area. Here's our quick summary of how the Dane County single family home market performed last month. 

Madison area home prices increased 4% year-over-year and 5% year-to-date. 

The price per square foot reached a new high in the month of June. 

New MLS listings were lower by 14% during the month and 14% year-to-date. 

A lack of fresh supply is benefiting home sellers in 2020. June listings were at their lowest level since 2011. 

This graph shows new listing activity by week for the first 6 months of the year. MLS listings have been trending lower since the end of March. 

Despite low inventory, buyers were very active in the month of June. 

The number