Market Report: Great Estates on Madeline Island Coming to the Market A market trend is quietly taking place on Madeline Island, as some of the Island's best-known estates are reaching the market. The latest sign of that trend is the recent sale of Woods Manor, listed and sold by Madeline Island Realty. Woods Manor is perhaps the best-known estate property on the Island and an iconic Madeline Island landmark.[Just Sold - 933 Nebraska Row, LaPointe WI 54850 - Historic Woods Manor on Madeline Island, listed by Bob Kron, Madeline Island Realty]  The April 2012 sale of the estate at 351 Old Fort Road (The "Brittany Cottages" at Coole Park), at approximately $1.5 Million, is another example of this market trend toward more high-end homes available for purchase.  Prominent homes such as these ... 04/30/2013

Not All Multiple Listing Services are Created Equal   Madeline Island Realty was the first Madeline Island real estate company to introduce participation in a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) back in 2001.  At the time we joined the Northwest Wisconsin MLS, there was skepticism, even a fair amount of ridicule on the part of our competitors.  Today, virtually everyone on Madeline Island with a real estate license who is still in business is an MLS participant.  The same holds true for Bayfield (Wisconsin) agents. Most consumers don't know what uploading their property for sale to MLS does to benefit them.  And it appears a fair number of real estate agents don't really understand the process either. The purpose of MLS is to syndicate your listing to a wide variety of sources that will make... 04/24/2013

"Just Find Me a Millionaire Who Will Pay Cash for My Home"   We hear these exact words surprisingly often from sellers.  You wouldn't believe how many prospective sellers out there are looking for a "sugar daddy" who will cash them out at a top price. And while they're asking, sellers expect us to find someone who will pay cash for their upper-bracket property. Let's be logical here for a moment. Wealthy buyers are smart enough to realize that it doesn't make much sense to tie up a huge sum of cash in a vacation home.  Borrowed money is very affordable now.  Why would a buyer dump a huge amount of cash into your listing and park it there, especially with the lowest mortgage lending rates in decades? So let's start this discussion by informing sellers that most buyers, even wealthy ones,... 04/21/2013

NAR Profiles Typical Vacation Home Buyer in Today's Market   The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has come up with its latest profile on vacation home buyers, compiled from statistics gathered in the NAR "2013 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey". According to the survey, which covers new and existing sales in 2012, vacation home sales nationwide rose 10.1 per cent in 2012.  NAR also reports that vacation home purchases accounted for eleven per cent of all real estate transactions last year.   Here's the 2013 NAR profile of today's second home/vacation home buyer:   Average Buyer Age - 47 years old Median Household Income of Buyer - $92,100 Primary Reason for Purchasing a Vacation Home - 80 per cent planned to use the property for vacations or as a family retreat. Where the... 04/20/2013

When You Set the Price, You Assume Responsibility if it Doesn't Sell   Part of your listing agent's role in selling your home is to do market research and to come up with a suggested list price.  Real estate professionals also market homes in order to show them in the best possible light, but pricing is a major part of the process. If you choose to ignore the listing agent's research and market advice, that is your choice.  And at the moment you veto that professional advice, you assume responsibility if the property doesn't sell.  When you ignore or reject market statistics, you are essentially buying your own home.  You're making the statement, "I know better than the appraiser, the real estate agent and the listing broker". The stubborn refusal to consider pricing at the market is yo... 04/19/2013

Before you Price and Sell Your Home, Consider Your Potential Audience   A 2012 article in The Atlantic magazine referred to the Millennial Generation somewhat uncharitably as "The Cheapest Generation".  While the authors could have chosen their words better, the point of the article was that Millennials aren't buying houses and automobiles, at least not to the extent that previous generations have. A slow recovery from the meltdown and financial crisis of 2008 deserves a share of the blame for the caution among consumers in their twenties and thirties.  But it's important to remember that those millennial consumers are our future homebuyers. The article goes on to remind the reader that young buyers are cautious and they are searching for value in everything they buy.  Slow job growth, ... 04/18/2013

727 S. Shore Rd, LaPointe WI - Madeline Island Lake Home - New Price!   PRICE REDUCED -  Now $319,000 - Madeline Island Waterfront home on Lake Superior, at an astonishing price. Lake home with over 400 feet of south-facing Lake Superior frontage, including dock and shoreline staircase.  The 10.92 acre property (with 440 feet of water frontage) may be subdivided, offering the potential of creating a second buildable waterfront lot.  Consider the possibilities.  Subdivide the additional vacant lakeshore parcel and sell it off. You'll have a vacation home on 200 feet of pristine Lake Superior frontage at a price you won't find anywhere else in the upper Midwest.  Or keep the second parcel as a privacy buffer.  Another option would be to create a building site for a family member on the se... 04/18/2013

Does it Really Cost All that Much More to Build a Home on an Island?   I've heard and read a fair amount of misinformation about how much additional cost is involved in building a second home on Madeline Island.  This might be a good time and place to set the record straight.   Your costs will vary considerably, depending upon what type of construction you choose.  Traditional "stick-built" homes cost more simply because they are more labor intensive.  You'll need to find a construction crew (and probably offer them housing during the building process) for a period of several months.  By contrast, homes that are pre-cut or preassembled, such as log homes or timberframe homes, require far less on-site labor.  Modular designs can offer even greater savings. All your building materials wil... 04/14/2013

How we Research Comparable Sales Statistics for Madeline Island   I receive at least one or two phone calls per month from appraisers, asking my opinion as a real estate broker about comparable recent sales and the market value of Madeline Island properties. My reply to these inquiries is a sometimes complex amalgam of statistics that don't necessarily come from the Island, and sometimes don't even come from the Apostle Islands vicinity. Here's why selecting and analyzing comparable properties for Madeline Island is a challenge: It's an Island.  As my friend Ed Hartig (owner of the Island Store) is fond of reminding visiting tourists, "that water you see out there goes all the way around".  Island properties are a unique niche market and island buyers are not your ordinary vacation home... 04/13/2013

Waiting for the Market to Rebound Before Selling Your Vacation Home?   Every once in awhile, a homeowner tells me they are "waiting for prices to come back up to where they were when I bought".  The problem with this "rebound stragegy" (if you could call it a strategy) is that you are losing money each month and each year, while you wait for that kind of rebound to happen.   Here's how this highly questionable strategy results in emptying your wallet.   You're Still Paying Property Taxes - Take a look at your property tax bill and tally up what another year's wait will cost you.  Add to that figure the cost of keeping the property insured.  Our Madeline Island Sanitary District user fees (essentially a tax) should be added as well. Mortgage Interest - Unless you own your home outright, ... 04/08/2013

Five Good Reasons to List Your Madeline Island Home for Sale Now   Read and consider these five good reasons why now is the best time to list your Madeline Island home for sale:   - The ferry's running again.  Madeline IslandFerry Line trips between Bayfield, Wisconsin and Madeline Island began last Wednesday. Winter-weary tourists will be visiting soon, and their curiosity about what's for sale makes April a perfect time to hit the market. - We need time to get your listing in front of the public.  It takes anywhere from six weeks to two months for a new listing to achieve saturation on search engines and to build a presence with folks browsing the Web for second homes (that's 90% of prospective buyers today who begin their property search on the Internet).  You have between April and ... 04/08/2013

2013 Could Turn out to be a Great Year to Buy a Madeline Island Home   Signs point to an interesting year for both buyers and sellers of Madeline Island properties in 2013. List prices appear to have bottomed out and values have found sustainable levels, following several years of falling prices.  Sales are sparse and buyer interest may be sluggish, but there is evidence that the market bottom for Madeline Island homes, townhomes/condominiums and vacant land has been reached. Property inventories are returning to 2012 levels and may surpass last year's numbers.  That's actually good news for buyers.  There is more to choose from, in all price brackets. The news for sellers is not all bad either.  Prices may not rebound to 2006 levels overnight, but the stabilizing real estate market and... 04/07/2013

The Madeline Island Ferry Line Has Resumed Regular Ferry Boat Service   This past week, the Madeline Island Ferry Line resumed its regular ferry schedule between Bayfield, Wisconsin and Madeline Island.  Trips resumed on Wednesday and passengers are making car ferry crossings again, a sure sign of spring. Madeline Island merchants look forward to the resumption of these car ferry crossings with great anticipation.  The ice road is fine for a time, and it saves Islanders money on ferry fees.  But the resumption of ferry service means more tourist traffic.  Cabin and cottage owners come up to the Island to open up their homes for the tourist season.  After frost ends and road restrictions are lifted, we see construction crews and building materials return to the Island.  And tourism comes... 04/07/2013

Turning FSBOs into Success Stories A fair number of our listings start out as "For Sale by Owner" properties.  To prospective sellers, what a real estate broker does appears easy.  Judging from the public's eagerness to try their hand at what we do, it's probably a good thing we aren't trapeze artists. Selling a home, particularly a second home in a relatively low-density vacation area, isn't easy these days.  I've witnessed FSBO vacation homes that started out outrageously overpriced when they hit the market.  Sellers tend to ignore factors like recent sales and the availability of mortgage money when they price their homes. Many FSBO sellers start out by creating their own pretty brochure (or flyer) and some of them even place a newspaper ad in the local paper.  The problem is, there'... 04/07/2013

The Art of the Possible - What Your Listing Agent Can (and Can't) Do I'm often surprised by the consumer's lack of understanding about what we do in the course of a real estate transaction. This isn't the consumer's fault.  "Reality" television has played a role in misleading the public about the role of real estate agents. The reality tv format has compressed the process into a glitzy, hugely abbreviated and compressed version of the process.  What the public sees is the fun and interesting part, with showings and discussions about decor and price negotiations.  Missing from the process is about ninety per cent of the work that goes into guiding a transaction through to a successful closing. In addition to the myopic and glamorized perspective on the work of real estate agents, there s... 03/31/2013

How to Entice a Buyer to Consider Purchasing Your Vacation Home   Before you decide to list your Madeline Island or Bayfield home (or any vacation home for that matter) for sale, consider a few basic questions.   Will your home be priced properly, in order to entice a prospective buyer?   Will your home be in proper showing condition and looking at its best to induce prospective buyers to consider it in the first place?   Will prospective buyers even be able to find your home on the Web or elsewhere?   These issues are even more important for sellers of second homes (by second homes, I'm referring to vacation homes or recreational properties, versus primary homes).   Unfortunately, I've NEVER met a buyer who was moved by a seller's arguments about "how much I've invested in my home" or ... 03/24/2013

  The Difference between Realtors With and Without the CRS Designation    Here's why you'll want to work with a CRS agent next time you buy or sell a home:   [Graphic and Statistics Courtesy of the Council of Residential Specialists and the National Association of Realtors]   It's Not Just About the Money But let's face it, when you undertake one of the largest purchases you'll make in a lifetime, you'll want to work with a busy professional, not a hobbyist or seasonal part-time agent.  Success in real estate is about making educated decisions.  More closed sales and more experience means that your agent spends more time at the closing table.  There's no substitute for the knowledge that comes with regular and continuous involvement with the rapidly-changing real estate industry. Experi... 03/16/2013

  Here's What Goes Into Showing Your Madeline Island Home in Winter I spent the past weekend showing homes on Madeline Island.  It was an adventure in many ways, certainly not routine.  Showing homes on a snowy, wintry island in Lake Superior is never routine. It occurred to me that most of my clients have no idea what's actually involved in showing their Madeline Island home during winter months.  Allow me to paint you a picture of what this is like. Transportation: The 250-mile drive from Minneapolis - Saint Paul was uneventful.  Roads were cleared and dry, traffic wasn't bad once I got outside the metro area and I made the trip pretty much nonstop to Bayfield, Wisconsin in just over four and a half hours.  It's not always that simple, of course.  I plan ahead when I drive to the Apos... 03/03/2013

  The Islewood Road Neighborhood on Madeline Island   Madeline Island's Islewood Road neighborhood is a charming little enclave of just eight waterfront lots on Lake Superior, located a few tenths of a mile northeast of the end of Capser Road/Grant's Point and adjacent to the northeast end of O'Brien Lane, on the southeast side of the Island. The Islewood Road subdivision was created in the late 1980s and lots were marketed for sale in the early and mid-1990s.  We purchased lot four in 1995, after searching for a building site which would be suitable for a log home.  We wanted to be fairly close to town and in a quiet wooded location, with a south-facing view.  Islewood Road homeowners enjoy a sheltered vantage point on the south end of Madeline Island. Most of our prevailing winds and ... 02/16/2013

  A Closer Look at Madeline Island's Main Street Waterfront Neighborhood     A few years ago, a couple walked into our Madeline Island Realty office at 809 Main Street, in downtown LaPointe, Wisconsin.  They had just arrived on Madeline Island a few minutes earlier and they'd visited the Island many times in the past. The male of the species pointed out our side window, facing south, and inqured, "got anything for sale down the street here on the waterfront side?"  I showed them our brochure with out the one available single-family waterfront home on Main Street.  He asked me how often these Main Street cottages and homes hit the market, and I replied that it has been rare to see one with a For Sale sign in the yard during the past ten years. Like all of our most choice neighborhoods on... 02/16/2013