Here are 3 useful websites related to inspections and testing:
I'm pleased to write we have about 50 listings on board for the February 8th open house event on Madison's west side - with more listings signing up soon. See this madison.com post for a list of participating homes, condos, and open house times. We'll continue to update the list up to the day of the event.
This very informative map shows Dane County foreclosures by location during the years 2005 through 2007. Even more useful, it maps foreclosure density (the number of foreclosures per 100 household units). Two things jump out at me when I view this map:
Researching a mortgage is one very good way you or your buyer agent can learn about a seller's position prior to making your offer. Another very useful research exercise you can undertake is to look at whether or not the seller has fallen behind on his property tax payments. Why is this important? Because a seller will need to pay off any delinquent taxes by the time of closing before the property can change hands.
Checking for delinquent taxes is easy to do and takes only a few minutes of time. Here's how you do it:
In November, we saw Dane County home and condo sales decrease by more than 34% from the previous November - a clear result of the economic news that started making headlines in September.
Then mortgage rates plunged, and in December we saw renewed interest from buyers who were spurred to action by low rates. How did this uptick in buyer activity translate into sales?
Home sales decreased in December, but at a more moderate rate of 12%.
You'll find these maps and map-based websites useful if you have an interest in buying local real estate:
Both mortgage rates and housing starts have reached new lows.
Dane County housing starts totaled 20 in December, down 74% from the 78 housing starts in December of 2007. Data comes from MTD Marketing Services of Wisconsin.
Here's how Dane County housing starts have stacked up for each of the last 10 Decembers:
That's an incredible drop. The 20 housing starts last month were down over 90% from the peak December in 2003.
You'll find our full housing start report, including a summary of the 2008 year, on the real estate trends page at DaneCountyMarket.com. A special thanks to Dominic Collar of MTD Marketing Services of Wisconsin, for allowing us to share his data. For more information, you can contact Dominic at 920/993-8435.
Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes the results of its weekly mortgage market survey. This week, for the first time in recent memory, the average rate for a 30 year fixed rate loan dipped below 5% to 4.96%. The average rate for a 15 year fixed rate loan fell to 4.65%.
Here's how the Freddie Mac survey results have trended over the last 20 weeks:
We've reviewed how prices have changed for Madison homes that sold twice via the MLS over a short period of time. Sixty-one percent of those homes on the west side sold the second time around at a price that was at or above the most recent selling price. On the east side, forty-seven percent of those homes sold at or above the most recent purchase price.
We've taken the same look at price trends for a number of other Dane County communities. Overall, 50% of the homes we sampled sold the second time around for a price that was at or above the most recent selling price. The results for each community are summarized below.
We've posted the full list of transactions for each of these communities on the real estate trends page at DaneCountyMarket.com. These links will take you to the transaction list for each community:
How did we come up with our data? First, we identified all of the homes that sold via the MLS in 2008. Then we identified the subset of these homes that also sold on the MLS during either 2005, 2006 or 2007. For each of these homes we calculated the price difference between the first and second sale.
We recently looked at homes on Madison's west side that sold twice via the MLS in a short period of time. We learned 61% of those homes sold the second time around at a price that was at or above the most recent selling price (39% percent sold for a price decrease).
We've taken the same view of homes on Madison's east side, and here's what we've found:
Dane County foreclosures increased from 73 in December of 2007 to 103 last month, up 41%. A total of 1,312 foreclosures were filed in 2008, up 46% from last year's total of 898.
The graph below shows how Dane County foreclosures have grown each of the past 4 years. The 1,312 foreclosures in 2008 more than tripled the 422 foreclosure filings from 2004.
You'll find our full foreclosure report for the month of December and the 2008 year on the economic trends page at DaneCountyMarket.com.
A number of Realtors, including our real estate team, are investing in a relatively new and very cool tool that allows friends and customers to easily track the market in their location of choice. Users receive a monthly update that includes information on current listings, as well as listing details for properties that have recently sold.
Here's a sample view of the tool. Each green property represents an active listing. Each red property represents a listing that has recently sold.
From this birds eye view you can choose to learn more about any of the properties in the list. Additional details include a property description, list of amenities, MLS ID and photo.
This tool is especially handy for people, such as relocating buyers, who want to learn more about a particular neighborhood. In addition to the market information mentioned above, the tool provides a map that displays information on area schools, parks, places of worship, restaurants and shops, entertainment venues, and other neighborhood features.
Talk to your Realtor if you feel this tool would be beneficial to you. Or you can check out this brief article on DaneCountyMarket.com. It tells you more about the tool and how it can be customized to match your interests. The tool is easy-to-use and free of charge.
The MLS median price is a good measure for tracking the market. It tells us what buyers are willing and able to pay when they make their real estate purchase. The median price measure does have one important limitation: It doesn't tell us how prices for the same properties are changing over time.
To answer this question, we looked to the MLS database for some answers. First, we identified all of the homes on Madison's west side that sold via the MLS during 2008. Then we identified the subset of these homes that also sold via the MLS during 2005, 2006 or 2007.
Here's what we found:
We've posted the details for each property on the DaneCountyMarket real estate trends page. The details shed some further light on the market. For example:
We'll take a closer look at other markets in the coming weeks. Our next market will be Madison's east side.
Several fellow Realtors and I are organizing an open house event for a large portion of Madison's west side on Sunday, February 8th. Our goal is to coordinate several dozen open houses, to make it easy for people to get out and view this year's inventory of homes and condos. We'll be sharing more details about the open house event soon.
On a related note, rates for 30 year fixed rate mortgages were as low as 5% yesterday, and for some lenders, even lower. If you've been planning to buy or refinance, now is a great time to speak with your lender. Rates are as low as they've ever been.
Condos accounted for 24% of all residential sales (homes and condos) through November of 2008, down from 26% the year before. Data comes from the South Central Wisconsin MLS.
Although the condo sales mix is down slightly this year, it is still well above the percentage from just a few years ago. Condos accounted for only 18% of all sales in the year 2000. That number grew to 25% in 2004 and peaked at 27% in 2005 and 2006.
We'll keep you posted in 2009. You'll find our condo sales mix report updated monthly on the DaneCountyMarket real estate trends page.
Dane County home and condo inventory stood at 4,368 units on December 31st - 229 lower than the inventory level from 12/31/2007. The graph below shows inventory dipped to its lowest point of the year (green = condos, blue = homes, purple = homes and condos combined).
The graph also shows how inventory varies with the seasons. Take a look at last year. Home and condo inventory grew by 1,070 units from 12/31/2007 to 4/30/2008 as many sellers listed their properties in time for the peak buying season.
We'll see a similar trend this year. This means buyers will have more to choose from this Spring, but along with that a lot more competition from other buyers. And although it's a down market, many properties will sell quickly this Spring due to the seasonal flood of buyers - especially in areas and price ranges where inventory is low.
There's one other interesting thing about the graph above: there weren't any seasonal ebbs and flows of inventory during 2005 and 2006. Inventory kept rising as new properties flooded the market. All of this happened as the demand for housing started to subside.
For more inventory information, check out our full set of reports on the buying real estate and selling real estate pages at DaneCountyMarket.com:
UW Credit Union's first seminar of the year is Tuesday, January 13th from 6:30 to 8:00 PM at 3500 University Ave. Topics include:
You can claim the $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit on your 2008 return if you purchase your home prior to filing your return. For example, if you purchase your first home on March 1st, and you file your taxes on April 15th, you'll receive the tax credit with your 2008 tax return.
For more information, you'll find this brief description of the tax credit on the DaneCountyMarket buying real estate page helpful. These FAQ documents from the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders provide an additional level of detail.
