At Mad City Dream Homes, we like to think of every listing as a luxury listing. We believe every property - no matter the price point - deserves beautiful photos. That's why we work so closely with you on your cosmetic updates, your staging, and your photography. We've learned from experience that all of our up front planning and preparation pays huge dividends when your home hits the market. 

For example, here are some beautiful photos from 10 of our recent listings, all of which were priced at $300,000 and under. Each property sold quickly and for a high market price, and most received multiple offers. Thank you Shelley Lazzareschi, Chris Venden, Maureen Moran, Alan Feder, Ann Raschein, Tracy Kapela, and Debbie Lea for your contributions to these

Does your home offer a truly special setting? Then use drone photography to sell your property's unique location. Below we share some great examples of aerial photography from a few of our recent listings. 

We have only a short window of time before the weather turns cold and the snow starts flying. Right now is the perfect time to capture some colorful aerial photos in preparation for your upcoming real estate listing. Contact your favorite Mad City Dream Homes agent to discuss your marketing strategy. 

A luxury home in Middleton Hills

This high-altitude shot shows the close proximity of Pheasant Branch Creek and Lake Mendota to our latest luxury listing in Middleton Hills. 

A waterfront home located along Spring Harbor Cove

This drone

I'm Tracy Kapela and I'm the photographer and visual media specialist for the Mad City Dream Homes real estate team. Here are a few of my favorite listing photos that I've taken in 2020 so far.

Kitchens

The kitchen is often thought of as the "heart of the home", so I try to show as much of the space as possible so you can see yourself in there and get a feel for how the flow could work for you.

Living/Family Rooms

The entertaining area is also one of the most important spaces that buyers want to see, so I try to focus on showing windows, fireplaces or any other feature that is unique to each house.

Dining Rooms

Formal dining rooms can have special features like beamed ceilings,

Martin Menocal is more than a photographer; he's an artist. Martin's attention to detail and dedication to his craft are truly remarkable, which is why Martin is one of our preferred photographers. Here are just a few examples of Martin's work from some of our recent real estate listings. 

Interior photos by Martin Menocal

Exterior and outside photos

Photos are the most important part of every listing

A listing with beautiful photos receives more looks and clicks online, which leads to more requests for showings, more buyer competition, and a higher price on the sale of the home. Remember, we don't have a set budget for our listings. This philosophy allows us to work with the best

** This article was originally written by Samantha Haas while a member of our team. You can learn more about Samantha and her work here. 

Lights on, fans off. That's how Beau Meyer gets his photo shoots started. His subject? Homes.

Without giving away all his tricks of the trade, we want to share a few reasons why Beau is one of our favorite photographers to work with for our listings.

Stunning images

Even without seeing Beau's before and after shots on his website, there's no denying his knack for interior photography.

One of his trademarks is to make the exterior views visible through the windows. To do this he combines multiple exposures of images to "make it just like you see it."

He especially loves taking photos of lake homes or

All of the photos below come from our 2016 listings. Each picture offers a great example of how professional staging and professional photography can work together to create a killer listing. These photos come from both upscale and modest homes, and from homes large and small. No matter what kind of home you have, you can have killer listing photos, too. 

A special thanks to Debbie Lea from Showcase Home Stagers, who shares her expertise with all of our listing clients. These listing photos wouldn't be possible without her expertise and guidance. Remember, we offer Debbie's consultation free of charge when you hire us to sell your home. 

Kitchen and Dining Room Photos

Living Room Photos

We have a new listing coming up at 6577 Matz Rd in Dane, Wisconsin. It's a beautiful 3-bedroom home that sits on an acre of land just 15 minutes from Madison's West Side. The house is beautiful, but the views are truly breathtaking. That's why we've called on talented photographer, Zac Albrecht, to take pictures of the landscape surrounding the property. This home offers million dollar views, and Zac has done a wonderful job capturing them. Below are a few photos which will be appearing soon in our upcoming listing.

Professional Landscape Photos - 6577 Matz Rd, Dane, WI

This first photo is taken from the back yard of the home - overlooking Baraboo Bluffs - with views that extend for miles and miles. Imagine the scenery this vista offers during the

In our last post we covered how the MLS limits the listing description to 512 characters of text. The MLS has a similar limitation in place for photos: all listings are limited to a max of 25 pictures.

For many properties, 25 photos is more than sufficient to show the entire home. But for some properties, 25 is not enough. For example, consider the home that sits on a wonderfully-landscaped lot with a variety of perennials in bloom throughout the seasons. One great way to market this home is to show buyers the beauty of the yard in the Spring, Summer and Fall. A proactive listing agent will hire a photographer to produce dozens of high-quality exterior photos, so when the home is ready to list all of the exterior photos are ready for publication.

There is an old joke in the real estate business about the "three P's of selling a home". The first P is put a sign in the yard. The second P is place the listing on the MLS. The third P is pray another agent sells it.

Praying can't hurt, but a yard sign and the MLS are proven tools for marketing a home. A yard sign lets all passersby know your home is for sale. The MLS syndicates your listing to thousands of websites across the globe. However, a solid home-selling plan does much more than rely on a yard sign and MLS syndication. A solid marketing plan takes a much more comprehensive approach by selling the many benefits of your home.

One Big Drawback of the MLS

One big drawback of MLS syndication is the limit placed on descriptive text. The MLS

You can have a luxury listing without having a luxury home. All you need is the right team of professionals and a solid marketing plan backing you every step of the way. At Mad City Dream Homes, we offer you the expertise of our professional stager. Our stager guides you through your home preparations until your property is camera-ready. When your staging is complete, we bring in our professional photographer to shoot your listing photos. The end result is magazine-quality photos like the ones below.

The pictures below come from a variety of listings we've sold over the last few years. These photos represent properties that sold for less than $100,000 to well over $1,000,000. Whether you're selling a small condo, a luxury home on the lake, or a