Here's our latest look at the Madison area condo market, without any hyperbole or spin. 

Dane County condo prices

The price per square foot increased from $214 in August of 2022 to $217 in August of 2023. 

Here's how condo prices are trending through the first 8 months of the year:

• the price per square foot is up 6 percent
• the median is up 13 percent 
• and the average is up 12 percent

We fully expect Madison area condo prices to keep rising based on all of the supply and demand trends that we're observing in the market right now. 

Also note: Because the number of condos sold each month is relatively small, the monthly prices can experience dramatic swings. That's why it's important to focus on the overall trend and not

We recently posted about scarcity in the Madison area real estate market, and right now there is no better example of this than the number of homes and condos being sold. To put it plainly, home sales are at their lowest levels since the Great Recession. 

And the same goes for condos.

And yet, prices are off the charts.

The implications

In a complex market like ours, buyers and sellers will want to hire an agent they can count on when the stakes are high. And the realtor who hopes to thrive in this market will want to stand out as a trusted and caring professional.

That trust, in our opinion, will be earned through a daily dedication to craft. It won't be earned through social media and promotion. Customers will want more and need

Single family home listings increased year-over-year in August, but in the big picture the number of new listings entering the Madison area real estate market remained very low. This was only the second August this century with fewer than 500 homes being listed for sale in Dane County.

Condo listings continued to enter the market at a slow pace, too. Only 126 Dane County condos were listed for sale in August, which was the lowest August total in 21 years.

What's next for the Madison area areal estate market? 

We're expecting high prices and low supply for the foreseeable future. Stay tuned for our August Dane County home and condo market updates, which we'll be publishing to our blog real soon. 

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.

If you're a numbers person, you might say the best time to buy a home would have been 11 years ago when the market bottomed out during the Great Recession. Since that time, Dane County home prices have risen by 94%. 

Or, put another way, if you purchased a Dane County home for $300,000 in 2012, that same home would be worth roughly $580,000 right now. 

But what about the future?

If home prices are so high right now, you might expect lower prices and more opportunities to buy right around the corner. After all, prices always do eventually fall. 

Our take is that although prices will eventually fall, we don't see this happening anytime soon. There are simply too many factors at work that will limit supply and maintain high prices for the

We have a tendency to assume that the real estate market will act as it always has according to predictable patterns and cycles. But, we're in a new era for real estate. And what we're learning right now is that some of the old rules no longer apply. Here are 3 examples.

Old rule #1:

Prices go through regular boom and bust cycles based on having either too little or too much supply.

• New rule #1: Many systemic factors are at play which will limit supply indefinitely and keep prices high.

Old rule #2:

The springtime and the summertime tend to be the best times to buy a home in Dane County.

• New rule #2: In a perpetually low supply market like ours, buying a home is now a year-round endeavor. Your best opportunity could present

Here's our latest insight into the Dane County condominium market, covering the month of July, 2023.

July Dane County condo prices

Madison area condo prices continued to rise in July, and by all measures:

• The price per square foot of $226 rose by 8 percent from $210 in July of 2022.
• The median price of $322,500 jumped by 17 percent.
• And the average price of $359,203 soared by 23 percent.

Note: Because the number of condos sold each month is relatively small, the monthly numbers can experience dramatic swings. However, these numbers for the month of July are consistent with how the condo market has been performing throughout the year.

New MLS listings

Only 122 condos were listed for sale in July, which was a decrease of

Here's our latest insight into the Dane County single family home market, covering the month of July, 2023. 

July Dane County home prices

Madison area home prices continued to rise in July, and by all measures:

• The price per square foot of $225 rose by 6 percent from the $213 in July of 2022.
• The median price of $446,154 also grew by 6 percent.
• And the average price of $505,915 increased by 5 percent. 

We're expecting prices to continue to rise for the foreseeable future based on all of our current supply and demand trends -- keep reading for more insight.

July MLS listings

As the chart below shows, MLS listing activity decreased significantly last summer when interest rates moved sharply higher. And listings have been

We've entered the heart of the summer season, when showing activity subsides from the peak market of the spring. And showings will continue to slow throughout the second half of the year, as they do every year, here in Dane County. 

At the same time it's important to know that prices keep rising in the Madison area, even though buyer activity is slowing. We'll have a lot more to share on this topic, coming to our blog real soon. 

It's a low inventory market, for sure, but buyers who remain persistent and patient will find more opportunities to purchase in the months ahead. That's because fewer buyers are home-shopping during the second half of the year, and inventory is slowly rising. And we expect this trend to continue into the fall season, as it typically does each year.

What questions do you have about buying or selling a home in the Madison area? We're always available for a helpful conversation, and we'd love to help you plan for your future.