The numbers are in, and Dane County condo prices continue to rise at the fastest pace we've ever seen. Here's our inside scoop on the Madison area condo market, covering the month of May, 2021. 

Price per square foot

The price per square foot jumped from $159 in May of 2020 to $190 in May of 2021. That's a 19% increase year-over-year and a 14% jump year-to-date. 

New condo listings

One of the reasons prices are rising is a scarcity of new supply. Only 186 Dane County condo listings entered the market in the month of May, which was the lowest level since May of 2010. 

Condo inventory and percent of listings with accepted offers

As of June 9th, only .6 months of condo supply were available for sale in Dane County. Overall, 70% of

Congratulations to Dan Miller's friend, Lois, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday! Lois stays positive and active but she also credits her ability to stay in her home - her sanctuary - as key to her longevity and health.

The real value of homeownership

Owning a home is about more than owning property. It’s about quality of life and quantity of life, too. 

Do you know someone who’s in search of their dream home? Our team is here to help you, your friends, and your family live out your dreams at every stage of life. Let’s have a conversation about your real estate dreams and goals. We'll help you explore all of the possibilities!

The month of May was another very favorable month for Madison area home sellers. Here's our quick snapshot of the Dane County single family home market. 

New MLS listings

Only 713 new MLS listings entered the market in the month of May, which was one of the lower new listing totals going back to the year 2000. 

Months of supply and percent of listings with accepted offers

As of June 7th, 58% of all listings were under contract with an accepted offer, which was lower than the 67% recorded last month. Right now there are .8 months of supply, which is up from .5 months in May. Single family home inventory is not quite as tight as it was during the peak spring market. 

Percent of listings receiving multiple offers

Our competing

Madison area home prices are rising by double-digits in 2021, which has some first-time home buyers sitting out this year's market with the hope that prices will be falling significantly soon. We don't believe this is likely to happen. 

Local trends favor more appreciation

Based on local supply and demand trends, we see prices rising. On the demand side, our population of home buyers keeps growing year-after-year, as Dane County consistently ranks as the fastest growing region in the state. Persistently low supply also points to higher prices: Dane County home building has been operating at subdued levels for the last 15 years, while new condo construction has been almost non-existent. 

Building a home has also become a much more expensive

For Shelley Lazzareschi, helping her clients stage their home has become a passion that sets her apart as a professional in our field. Working alongside her partner in crime, Debbie Lea, Shelley invests an amazing amount of hands-on support as she helps her clients prepare their home for the market.

Very often this means she's donating her own furniture, artwork, accessories, and bedding for the benefit of her clients. With her eye for design and through her own hard work, Shelley has developed a reputation on our team for transforming properties into beautiful, showcase listings. 

Shelley's staging collection has grown tremendously over the years -- so much so that she now rents a storage facility to house all of her supplies. And her inventory

We've all heard stories of this year's hot real estate market and about properties selling for way over the list price. According to the latest stats from the South Central Wisconsin MLS, Dane County single family homes are selling for an average of 1.9% above the list. For Mad City Dream Homes clients, the results are even stronger. So far this year our single family home listings are selling for 4.9% above the list price. 

The bottom line

On the whole, Mad City Dream Homes clients are receiving 3% more above the list price than the typical seller in Dane County. Put another way, for the typical $400,000 listing, our clients are netting $12,000 more toward their bottom line. This is more real life proof that skilled staging, pricing, marketing,

This spring it's not uncommon for listings to receive as many as 10, 20 or sometimes even 30 offers. And when this happens the offers become extremely competitive. Of course buyers are competing with their offer price, but they're competing in some other key ways, too. Here are 4 key terms that many winning offers share when the bidding is especially fierce. 

The most competitive offers in 2021

Buyers are waiving their home inspection contingency. When the competition is especially fierce, some buyers are choosing to forego a home inspection. This isn't something that we advise our buyer clients to do. Nonetheless, offers without home inspection contingencies are relatively common when listings attract a dozen or more offers. 

Buyers are

Congrats to Jake Johnson and his buyer clients who just negotiated an accepted offer for $30,000 below the list price. These days we hear so many stories of properties selling for $30,000 over the list, but this transaction is a great reminder that every negotiation is unique -- even in this year's low inventory, seller-friendly market. 

In this case Jake demonstrated a solid grasp of local market conditions while using his communication skills to build rapport with the sellers and negotiate a favorable outcome for his clients. Needless to say, Jake's clients are ecstatic!

Jake, we appreciate how you represent your clients at such a high level as you capably guide each buyer to their dream home.

For those of you who are in need of a great buyer

Did you know that many of the listing photos we see online are actually produced overseas? Sure, the pictures are taken by a local photographer. But what many people don’t know is that in many cases the photo editing is outsourced overseas before the final images are published online.  

The same goes for virtual staging. Many of the virtually staged images that we see online are actually produced by people who live halfway around the world. 

From an economic perspective, this approach to photography is beneficial to the consumer. It leverages cheap, overseas labor to efficiently deliver an affordable product. 

But in the bigger picture it comes at a cost -- because it bypasses an opportunity to create meaningful work and support our economy right

Here's our snapshot of the latest Dane County condo trends, as well as some guidance for buyers and sellers on how to navigate this year's unique market. If you are planning to buy or sell a condo in 2021, please reach out to us for a helpful conversation. As always, we're never too busy to learn about your goals and share our guidance and advice. 

New Dane County condo listings

Excluding last April's numbers -- which were the result of the pandemic shutdown -- new MLS condo listings were at the lowest level since 2002. 

Condo supply and percent of listings with accepted offers

As of May 5th, only half a month of condo supply was available for sale in the Madison area -- which is the lowest level we have seen in our market. Overall, 71% of