Thinking of building a new home in Madison, Wisconsin? You're not alone. Housing starts in the Madison area are up by more than 75% through the first two months of 2013. And we see the trend toward more home-building continuing throughout the year.

Here are a few reasons why:

1. The inventory of existing homes is at its lowest point since 2005.
2. Foreclosures continue to decline rapidly, which well help to keep inventories of existing homes low.
3. Demand is high. Madison homes are selling at their fastest pace in the last 6 years.
4. There is a large, pent-up demand for real estate, which suggests we'll continue to see robust sales in the year ahead. Contrast this to the last several years when home sales were at depressed levels and consumers