The Dane County real estate market got off to a sluggish start during the first 3 months of the year, as single family home accepted offers decreased by 15% from the year before. However, buyer activity picked up significantly in the month of April. Here's our update on the latest real estate trends in Dane County.

Accepted offers

Buyer activity in April was more in line with what we expect to see in a spring market. A total of 680 single family home listings received accepted offers in April, down just 4% from the year before. 

New listings

New single family home listings continued to enter the market at a slow pace, which is great news for sellers. New listings decreased by 9% in the month of April and 10% year-to-date. 

Months

It came later than expected this year, but the hot spring real estate market has officially arrived to Madison. Right now over 50% of the home and condo listings in Madison have an accepted offer, which is one of our key indicators of a fast-moving market. Last year, the market hit this milestone in the month of February. This year, the market didn't reach this mark until the month of April. 

Why was the spring market delayed in 2019? 

Certainly, weather was a big factor. This year's long and unusually harsh winter caused both buyers and sellers to delay their plans for this year's market. Higher interest rates in early 2019 were also a factor, but then rates dropped at the end of March and the market responded positively. 

What to expect in

Mortgage rates have plunged to their lowest levels in over a year. Check out this chart courtesy of Freddie Mac, which shows the average rate for a 15-year fixed rate loan dropped to 3.75%, while the average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage dropped to almost 4% at the end of March. 

Rates are very attractive right now as many buyers are gearing up to purchase a new home during the spring buying season. This is great news for sellers, too. Here are a few timely tips that will help sellers take advantage of lower rates in 2019. 

5 Tips for Sellers in 2019

1) Take advantage of the spring selling season while rates are attractive. Remember, the best months for sellers are typically March, April, May and June. Strong seasonal demand and low

What are the hottest price points for Madison area real estate listings? We've taken a close look at the latest MLS statistics and there are 2 clear trends standing out in this year's market.

Madison single family home listings priced under $300,000 are super hot

Take a look at our snapshot below of the Madison single family home market. It shows properties priced under $300,000 have a very high percentage of listings with an accepted offer. Listings priced under $250,000 are especially hot, with over 60% of these properties currently under contract and scheduled to close soon.

What does this data mean for sellers and buyers in 2019? If you're selling a home for under $300,000 in the city of Madison, you have a great opportunity to leverage

Late last year we predicted the Dane County real estate market would be more balanced in 2019, based on the belief that interest rates would rise above 5%. In December, the market did cool as cautious buyers waited out a rocky stock market. The month of January was a different story, however. The stock market stabilized last month and mortgage rates moved lower rather than higher. Local home and condo buyers responded very favorably in January and are very active in the market right now.

Single family home buyers were very active in January

Single family home accepted offers increased in the month of January after decreasing by 19% the month before. As the graph below shows, accepted offers reached the 4th highest total ever for the month of

Madison mortgage rates have been falling, even though they are predicted to rise above 5% in 2019. As of this post, the rate for a 30 year fixed rate loan in Madison is below 4.5%. For a look at current local rates, contact our friends at Great Midwest Bank and Johnson Bank.

Even when rates do rise above 5%, they'll remain attractive when compared to rates over the last few decades. For example, take a look at the graph below, which shows the average 30 year mortgage rate dating back to April, 1971. Over this time period the average rate for a 30 year fixed rate loan has been above 8%, which is far above current rates.    

Tips for buyers and sellers while rates are under 5%

If you've been thinking of buying later in 2019, we recommend you

Here's a quick look back at the December Dane County real estate market, for both single family homes and condos. Let's jump right into it...

Dane County Single Family Home Update - Dec 2018

New Dane County single family home listings were the lowest ever for the month of December. A total of 211 new listings entered the market, a decrease of 12% from the year before. 

A low influx of new listings is keeping the inventory of active listings low, too. As of January 11th, only 1.5 months of supply were available for sale on the open market. 

Last month, a total of 265 accepted offers were recorded in the MLS - a decrease of 17% from the 321 accepted offers recorded in December of 2017. 

This historical view of accepted offers

The Dane County real estate market had cooled noticeably for 3 straight months but rebounded nicely in November with a 7% increase in single family home accepted offers. According to our MLS data below, accepted offers increased from 326 in November of 2017 to 349 in November of 2018. Last month's increase followed 3 straight months of year-over-year declines, where offers had decreased by 10%, 16%, and 8% in August, September, and October, respectively. 

In the City of Madison, November accepted offers increased by 14% after decreasing by 15%, 27% and 11% in the three previous months. There's no doubt the slow-down earlier this fall was due in part by the heavy rains and flooding that hit the city of Madison very hard. 

What will the market

Last year we predicted 2018 would be a clear seller's market in Madison and Dane County. This year we're predicting 2019 to be a more balanced market, characterized by rising inventory and moderate price growth. You can get all of the details by viewing our 10 predictions for the 2019 market below. 

Our 2019 Madison Real Estate Predictions

#1: Foreclosures will rise. 

Foreclosures have been quietly rising in 2018, and we expect more of the same in 2019. This means more distressed properties will become available for sale in the coming year, but not enough to appreciably impact inventory in the Madison area.

#2: New home and condo construction will plateau. 

Madison area housing starts have been flat in 2018, and this trend will continue

We've been asked this question a lot lately.

The flooding we experienced in August and September has negatively impacted single family home sales this fall, but overall sales activity remains strong for this time of year. Inventory remains low, and we expect it to stay low for the foreseeable future. As Dane County's population continues to grow, new homes and condos aren't being built fast enough to keep pace with demand, and prices continue to rise. 

Mortgage rates have risen slightly this year and are expected to rise more in 2019. For this reason we expect prices to increase at a more subdued pace in the coming year. Stay tuned for our upcoming predictions for the 2019 real estate market, which we'll be releasing soon. In the meantime, here's a