A closer look at Madison west home prices

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:

• Of the homes that sold via the MLS in 2008, 116 also sold via the MLS in 2005, 2006 or 2007.
• 71 of the 116 homes (61%) sold in 2008 for a price that was at or above the most recent selling price.
• 45 of the 116 homes (39%) sold in 2008 for a loss.

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:

• Investors are still "fixing and flipping" properties in the current market. The highest price increase was over $433,000 - for a property that was bought and then sold 9 months later.
• Some neighborhoods have stronger price trends than others.
• Some sellers have taken some big losses in recent months, while some buyers have clearly come away with some good deals.

We'll take a closer look at other markets in the coming weeks. Our next market will be Madison's east side.