Tips for finding the right buyer agent for you

A good buyer agent can be a tremendous asset as you go about the process of buying your new home, condo or investment property (read more here). Here are some ideas to help you think about finding the right buyer agent for you.

As you begin your property search, you're likely to encounter a number of different real estate agents. Do you have questions about the market? About specific properties? You can use your questions as opportunities to learn more about these agents.

You will find that every agent is different. Some will be more responsive and more helpful than others. Some will have specific areas of focus and knowledge that are important to you. Some will clearly be a good fit with your personality, while others will not.

Now let's assume you've found a couple of agents that stand out above the rest. You can move forward with your selection process by interviewing these agents. Ask the agents the questions that matter most to you. Then ask for references, and call them.

By the time you've completed this process, you should be able to find an agent that is a good fit for you.

Have a good day,

Dan Miller, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

The benefits of working with a buyer agent

A buyer agent can be a tremendous asset as you go about the process of buying a new home, especially in the current market where short sales, foreclosures and changing prices are the norm.

A buyer agent represents you (the client) throughout the entire negotiation process. That means your buyer agent can recommend negotiation strategies and an offer price based on his knowledge of the market and the listed property. Your buyer agent works to advance your interests and obtain the best terms for you - because you are his client.

Keep in mind that when you work with the listing agent to write an offer, the listing agent works for her client, the seller. The listing agent is the seller's advisor, not yours.

This short "how we help you buy" article on DaneCountyMarket.com describes how we assist our buyer clients. It covers the highlights of buyer agency and how buyer agency commissions are paid.

Have a good night,

Dan Miller, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

Parade of condos is April 25th through May 3rd

The Madison Are Builders Association parade of condos starts Saturday, April 25th. The event features 11 different condo developments in Madison, Middleton, Waunakee and Fitchburg across a wide variety of price ranges. Tickets are $10 apiece.

Have a good one,

Dan Miller, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

What's happening in the condo market?

There's a lot of inventory waiting to be purchased. Right now 7% of all Dane County condo listings are "under contract" (the number is 18% for homes). These are the condos that are recorded in the MLS as having an accepted offer. Some of these offers still need to clear hurdles such as financing, inspection and sale of home contingencies. Others have cleared all contingencies and are waiting to close.

As you'll see below, the percent under contract varies a lot by price range.

For more on the Dane County condo market, check out the real estate trends page at DaneCountyMarket.com.

Have a good weekend,

Dan Miller, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

Where is the market going?

In the direction of the starter home. As we noted in a recent post, we're seeing a ton of activity in the first-time home buyer segment right now.

Another way we can look at the direction of the market is to look at the MLS data for single family homes "under contract". These are homes that are recorded in the MLS as having an accepted offer. Some of these offers still need to clear hurdles such as financing, inspection and sale of home contingencies. Others have cleared all contingencies and are waiting to close.

As the data below shows, the segments with the highest percentage of homes under contract are the segments with homes priced under $275,000. For example, take the segment of homes between $200,000 and $224,999. Twenty-six percent of these listings are under contract. In other words for every 1 home that is under contract in this price range there are 3 other homes that are working to get an accepted offer.

Contrast this to the segment of homes priced between $600,000 and $699,999, where the percent under contract is only 6%. For every 1 home in this price range under contract, there are 16 other homes fighting to receive an accepted offer.

The implications for sellers in the higher price categories are huge. Supply is high and demand is weak, so pricing and presentation are critical.

Yes, we will see owners of starter homes moving up into larger and more expensive homes upon the successful sale of their current home. The $8,000 tax credit will end up providing a boost to all segments of the market. But keep in mind many of the sales in the starter home segment right now are short sale and foreclosure situations. The occupants of these homes are not moving up in the housing market. They are getting out or being forced out due to financial hardship.

If you own a home listed for over $400,000, and you need to sell, now is the time to evaluate everything about your plan. We can expect the $8,000 tax credit to "trickle up" into the higher price categories, but we can't count on it as a panacea for the market.

For more articles and resources devoted to sellers, check out the selling real estate page on DaneCountyMarket.com.

Have a good day,

Dan Miller, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

Madison property assessments updated for the 2009 tax year

The new Madison property tax assessments are out (view article here). It's hard to believe, but the average assessed value is only 1% lower than the average assessed value from last year.

Many people - quite often sellers - are tempted to use a property's assessed value as a proxy for market value. More often than not this ends up being an unreliable way to value a home.

One reason is the 2009 assessed values are based on activity that took place in 2008. The market is fluid and changing fast. In real estate terms, what happened in 2008 is ancient history now.

Another reason is the criteria used by buyers to value a home are much different than the criteria used by property assessors. Buyers evaluate everything about a home - including all of the things that are difficult to quantify in a spreadsheet. Things like the style and the quality of updates, the curb appeal and the landscaping, the maintenance and the upkeep that have gone into a home.

Not so long ago 9 out of every 10 Madison homes sold for above the assessed value. In 2008, that number was just over 5 in 10. Given that the average assessed value has only dropped by 1%, we can expect that number to dip below 5 in 10 this year.

For more on this topic, check out the following DaneCountyMarket.com articles:

• Market value versus assessed value in Madison
• Pricing your home

Have a good night,

Dan Miller, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

Is the $8,000 tax credit spurring the market?

The answer is a definite yes. And the numbers from the single family home market back it up.

Although Dane County single family home sales were lower by 11% in the month of March, the number of homes selling for under $200,000 increased by 14% from the number that sold in March of 2008.

We are seeing a ton of activity in the first-time homebuyer market right now. A lot of homes are receiving offers very quickly - within days of entering the market. Some are receiving full price offers and offers from more than one buyer.

On the flip side, home sales in the $400,000 and up price range are much lower than the numbers from a year ago. Condo sales also remain sluggish.

For more details, you can check out our March home and condo report.

Have a good weekend,

Dan Miller, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

Useful home buyer resources

Here are some resources that many of our friends and clients find useful as they begin the process of buying a new home. All of these links can be found under the resource column on the DaneCountyMarket.com buying real estate page.

• Assessment information by community
• Inspection and testing resources
• Local home buyer seminars
• Mortgage rates updated daily
• School and school district information
• Utility info
• Area maps

Many people also find our community resource page and our MLS map to be helpful home buying tools.

Have a good day,

Dan Miller, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

Can your builder help you sell your home?

If you're thinking of selling your home and building a new one, it could be worth talking to your builder about how the two of you can partner on the sale of your current home. Is your current home in need of cosmetic improvements? Maybe your builder can help. That's what this article suggests.

Dan Miller, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

Dane County housing starts up slightly in March

There were 50 Dane County housing starts in the month of March, up from the 49 housing starts a year ago. Year-to-date there were 109 starts through the month of March, down 33.5% from the 164 through March of last year.

Here's how housing starts have trended for the 11 previous months of March:

• March 1999: 205
• March 2000: 190
• March 2001: 245
• March 2002: 218
• March 2003: 203
• March 2004: 210
• March 2005: 235
• March 2006: 155
• March 2007: 103
• March 2008: 49
• March 2009: 50

Last month's 50 housing starts were almost 80% lower than the 245 housing starts registered during the peak March in 2001. You can check out our full report on the real estate trends page at DaneCountyMarket.com.

Thanks to Dominic Collar from MTD Marketing Services of Wisconsin for sharing his data. For more information, you can contact Dominic at 920/993-8435.

Have a good day,

Dan Miller, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

Dane County foreclosures up in March

Dane County foreclosures increased from 109 in March of 2008 to 127 last month - an increase of 16.5%.

For our full March foreclosure report, check out the economic trends page at DaneCountyMarket.com.

Have a good holiday,

Dan Miller, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

Two items of note this weekend for first-time homebuyers

#1: UW Credit Union is holding a seminar for first-time homebuyers this Saturday from 10:00 to 11:30. Click here for more info.

#2: The Wisconsin State Journal is publishing an article on the first-time homebuyer market this Sunday. You'll find it on the cover of the business section.

Have a good Thursday,

Dan Miller, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

Spring inventories are rising, months of inventory are at new highs

Dane County home and condo inventories are rising as more and more sellers are starting their listings in time for the Spring buying rush. From the graph below you'll see condo (green), home (blue), and combined (red) inventories have risen for the last 3 months.

Meanwhile months of inventory have reached new highs due to lower housing demand over the last several months. As of March 31st, condo supply (green) reached a new high of 20.5 months. Home supply (blue) tied it's previous high of 9 months. Combined supply (red) reached a new high of 11.7 months.

When months of inventory rise, buyers tend to gain leverage. Although months of inventory are at new highs, we are seeing some encouraging signs for the single family home market. We'll have more to share on that when we report our preliminary March numbers next week.

For more on inventories, you'll find these DaneCountyMarket.com reports useful:

• How single family home inventory varies by location
• How condo inventory varies by location
• How home and condo inventory vary by price range
• How active listings have changed over time
• How months of inventory have changed over time

Have a good day,

Dan Miller, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

How to use a net sheet

A seller net sheet is a spreadsheet you can use to estimate your closing proceeds after you enter variables such as your sales price, mortgage payoff, sales commission, pending real estate taxes, and closing costs. You can also use the net sheet to evaluate your marketing options, including different sales commission scenarios.

A net sheet can also be very useful to the buyer who wants to better understand a seller's financial position. It's easy to research a seller's mortgage and pending real estate taxes. You can plug these variables into the spreadsheet (along with others) to estimate a seller's closing proceeds prior to making your offer.

We'll be happy to email you your own spreadsheet. Feel free to contact us and we'll email one to you.

Have a good day,

Dan Miller, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

Auction - Liberty Square Homes in Sun Prairie

If you read last Sunday's real estate section in the Wiscsonsin State Journal, you may have noticed an auction will be taking place on Sunday, May 2nd for homes in the Liberty Square neighborhood in Sun Prairie. JP King will be conducting the auction.

Here's the home page for Liberty Square:

http://www.libertysquaresunprairie.com/

All of the homes are new construction homes built by Kraus Builders.

Have a good weekend,

Dan Miller, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com