How long have you been working at your job?  Have you developed some skills, knowledge and experience that would be helpful in putting your own talents to work?  Are you ready to give up the 9 to 5 grind and start your own home business?    Just think; you can wake up, put on a comfortable pair of sweats, get a cup of coffee, turn on the TV or stereo and get to work.  Maybe your job will just require a laptop computer, or maybe you need an entire office set-up with a fax machine and copier too.   Sounds great, but starting a business is not something to jump into without careful planning and consideration.  You will need to invest time and money into your venture and a solid business plan to be successful.   New businesses typically take one to three years to start making a good profit;... 02/23/2009

       Week Ending  23-Feb               Inventory   2009 2008 %Change   Downtown Houses 23 25 -9%   Downtown Condos 206 178 14%   West Houses 682 685 0%   West Condos 883 909 -3%   East Houses 457 540 -18%   East Condos 408 404 1%   Total Houses 1162 1250 -8%   Total Condos 1497 1491 0%   Grand Total 2659 2741 -3%           Market Indicators                   UWCU 30 Mortgage Rate 5.13% 6.38% -24%   Keller Williams Listings* 227 456 -101%   # of showings on KW Listings 94 154 -64%   3 week trend 98 134 -37%   6 week trend 83 141 -69%   % of listings with showings 41.41% 33.77% 18%   Av DOM for KW ACT Listings 227 201 11%             *KW Listings in Dane County for 09 and WI for 08   02/23/2009

This week, Congress passed a Bigger and Better Home Buyer Tax Credit. In an effort to stimulate the economy and revive the current housing market, this temporary tax credit is a welcome one to many. According to the Internal Revenue Service, first-time home buyers should begin planning now to take advantage of this new Tax Credit. A Tax Credit of up to $8,000 is now available for qualified first-time home buyers. Available for a limited time, here's your glance at the credit: Who is Eligible? The credit is available to first-time home buyers only. A first-time home buyer is defined as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. For married home buyers, the history of both buyers is taken into account. Is There a Deadline? Yes. The ... 02/21/2009

For the week ending February 11, 2009 The average listing price of homes for sale in Madison went down 1.3% from $246,208 to $242,996, while the median sales price for the quarter remained at $205,000. There are currently 2229 homes for sale in Madison, compared to 2247 last week. Bob bob@bentleyrealtygroup.net www.bentleyrealtygroup.net The real estate market data provided was obtained from Trulia.com Information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. 02/17/2009

  The often heard phrase "Buyer Beware" is never more appropriate than when considering the purchase of a fixer-upper. You really need to know exactly what you’re getting into before buying. It’s commonly believed that fixer-upper properties represent easy money that is ripe for the taking - that you can buy it, do a little work on it in your spare time, and then resell quickly for a large profit. Usually, this simply isn't the case. Although, with proper planning and foresight, good profits can be made by buying "distressed" properties at less than market value, making appropriate improvements and repairs, and then reselling. Today this activity is called "flipping real estate". And for many first time buyers who intend to live in a house while working on it, buying a fixer-upper can ... 02/13/2009

For the week ending February 4, 2009 The average listing price of homes for sale in Madison went down .2% from $246,594 to $246,208, while the median sales price for the quarter increased from $190,000 last quarter to $205,000 this quarter. There are currently 2247 homes for sale in Madison, compared to 1765 last week.   Bob bob@bentleyrealtygroup.net www.bentleyrealtygroup.net The real estate market data provided was obtained from Trulia.com Information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. 02/12/2009

  Madison, WI Weekly Report Feb 9, 2009            Week Ending  9-Feb               Inventory   2009 2008 %Change   Downtown Houses 23 24 -4%   Downtown Condos 201 0 100%   West Houses 667 684 -3%   West Condos 839 945 -13%   East Houses 445 552 -24%   East Condos 395 411 -4%   Total Houses 1135 1260 -11%   Total Condos 1435 1356 6%   Grand Total 2570 2616 -2%           Market Indicators                   UWCU 30 Mortgage Rate 5.13% 6.00% -17%   Keller Williams Listings* 219 450 -105%   # of showings on KW Listings 92 128 -39%   3 week trend 78 141 -81%   6 week trend 71 129 -81%   % of listings with showings 42.01% 28.44% 32%   Av DOM for KW ACT Listings 234 198 15%             *KW Listings in Dane County for 09 and WI for 08   02/09/2009

Think your pipeline is empty? Feeling discouraged about the dreary housing market? Think buyers are scarcer than snow in July? Guess again, my friends. Your pipeline is full. In fact it is so chock full of buyers (and sellers) right now you have no idea how much you can grow your business!How am I so sure about this? Let me explain. Over the past five years I added approximately $12.5m in sales to my bottom line by using a very simple technique that was so successful it has resulted in my cutting ties with my broker at the start of 2009 and launching my own real estate company. Here's how I did it: My first client was a guy I met in a park (my then 4 year-old struck up a conversation with his daughter) (two transactions totaling $363K) I sold a house to the cashier at Ace Hardware ($302... 02/08/2009

For the week ending January 28, 2009 The average listing price of homes for sale in Madison went up .1% from $246,449 to $246,594, while the median sales price for the quarter continues at $190,000. There are currently 1765 homes for sale in Madison, compared to 1782 last week.   Madison Homes For Sale Bob bob@bentleyrealtygroup.net www.bentleyrealtygroup.net The real estate market data provided was obtained from Trulia.com Information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. 02/03/2009

My Team keeps a bi-weekly record of all Active homes (homes on the market) and those which have gone under contract in 4 market areas; Madison West, East, Sun Prairie and Condos in Madison. I devide the under contracts into the inventory and get some measure similar to market adsorption.   This is Realtor speak for number of months inventory.   It is more closely, for every offer the buyer had x homes to chose from.  So the higher the point, the more homes available- not a good thing. Sun Prairie, in red, looked a bit scary before the end of 08? As you can see, I have data right up to Feb 3rd.  Today, I can tell what the market is doing since the beginning of last year- more importantly this year, when so many things are influencing the market that we are really unsure what will happen... 02/03/2009

January 2009   Single Family Homes Condos All New Listings 158 111 269 Currently Listed 689 992 1681 Average List Price $382,855 $265,417 $313,552 Number Sold 33 8 41 Average List Price – Sold $302,311 $150,362 $272,663 Average Sale Price $289,505 $142,012 $260,726 Average Days on Market 90 128 98  Compared to Last Month (December)   Single Family Homes Condos All New Listings 115 81 196 Currently Listed 750 1007 1757 Average List Price $377,067 $265,013 $312,845 Number Sold 51 23 74 Average List Price – Sold $313,647 $243,247 $291,766 Average Sale Price $299,211 $238,875 $280,458 Average Days on Market 75 81 77 Bob bob@bentleyrealtygroup.net www.bentleyrealtygroup.net Information obtained from the South Central Wisconsin MLS, deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. 02/02/2009

January 2009   Single Family Homes Condos All New Listings 94 79 173 Currently Listed 496 475 971 Average List Price $273,149 $205,167 $239,893 Number Sold 21 8 29 Average List Price – Sold $252,466 $431,675 $275,752 Average Sale Price $230,558 $394,387 $301,903 Average Days on Market 57 338 135 Compared to Last Month (December)   Single Family Homes Condos All New Listings 79 18 97 Currently Listed 498 466 964 Average List Price $278,630 $200,933 $241,071 Number Sold 42 10 52 Average List Price – Sold $215,896 $202,720 $213,362 Average Sale Price $207,261 $196,421 $205,177 Average Days on Market 65 165 84 Bob bob@bentleyrealtygroup.net www.bentleyrealtygroup.net Information obtained from the South Central Wisconsin MLS, deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. 02/02/2009

       Week Ending  2-Feb                   Inventory   2009 2008 %Change     Downtown Houses 23 25 -9%     Downtown Condos 200 0 100%     West Houses 634 668 -5%     West Condos 824 788 4%     East Houses 452 554 -23%     East Condos 388 412 -6%     Total Houses 1109 1247 -12%     Total Condos 1412 1200 15%     Grand Total 2521 2447 3%               Market Indicators                       UWCU 30 Mortgage Rate 5.13% 5.88% -15%     Keller Williams Listings* 214 447 -109%     # of showings on KW Listings 66 150 -127%     3 week trend 67 147 -119%     6 week trend 65 117 -81%     % of listings with showings 30.84% 33.56% -9%     Av DOM for KW ACT Listings 237 196 17%                 *KW Listings in Dane County for 09 and WI for 08     Madison statistics, Green Real Estate, Weekly Report,... 02/02/2009

For the week ending January 21, 2009 The average listing price of homes for sale in Madison went up .2% to $246,449, while the median sales price for the quarter continues at $190,000.  There are currently 1782 homes for sale in Madison, compared to 1742 last week.   Madison Homes For Sale Bob bob@bentleyrealtygroup.netwww.bentleyrealtygroup.net The real estate market data provided was obtained from Trulia.com  Information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. 01/29/2009

Can you believe I was just reading over a blog (ok, my first blog) here on Active Rain and also reading the wonderfully supportive comments that folks from everywhere made!  THAT WAS WRITTEN IN 2007!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Things are picking up in this VERY INTERESTING real estate market and The Schulz Team has decided to once again, that we had better "keep up with the Jones'", as they say. So, AR Blogging world:  WE ARE BACK! Our new website MadisonRealEstateToday.com is up and running and features many new and exciting features for Dane County Home Buyers and Sellers Alike!  To stay on top of this ever changing marketplace, you need up-to-date and current real estate information and that is exactly what MadisonRealEstateToday.com is offering. Please check us out and forward a link to ... 01/29/2009

       Week Ending  26-Jan               Inventory   2009 2008 %Change   Downtown Houses 21 26 -24%   Downtown Condos 187 0 100%   West Houses 650 663 -2%   West Condos 843 879 -4%   East Houses 458 559 -22%   East Condos 388 419 -8%   Total Houses 1129 1248 -11%   Total Condos 1418 1298 8%   Grand Total 2547 2546 0%           Market Indicators                   UWCU 30 Mortgage Rate 5.13% 5.88% -15%   Keller Williams Listings* 207 438 -112%   # of showings on KW Listings 70 146 -109%   3 week trend 67 139 -107%   6 week trend 65 103 -60%   % of listings with showings 33.82% 33.33% 1%   Av DOM for KW ACT Listings 242 195 19%             *KW Listings in Dane County for 09 and WI for 08   01/26/2009

For the week ending January 14, 2009 The average listing price of homes for sale in Madison went up .4% to $245,878, while the median sales price for the quarter continues at $190,000.  There are currently 1747 homes for sale in Madison. Madison Homes For Sale Bob bob@bentleyrealtygroup.netwww.bentleyrealtygroup.net The real estate market data provided was obtained from Trulia.com  Information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. 01/19/2009

For the week ending January 7, 2009 The average listing price of homes for sale in Madison went down .7% to $245,006, while the median sales price for the quarter was at $190,000.  There are currently 1726 homes for sale in Madison. Madison Homes For Sale Bob bob@bentleyrealtygroup.netwww.bentleyrealtygroup.net The real estate market data provided was obtained from Trulia.com  Information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. 01/12/2009

  Madison, WI Weekly Report Jan 12 2009            Week Ending  12-Jan               Inventory   2009 2008 %Change   Downtown Houses 23 24 -4%   Downtown Condos 172 156 9%   West Houses 648 606 6%   West Condos 834 856 -3%   East Houses 462 525 -14%   East Condos 395 413 -5%   Total Houses 1133 1155 -2%   Total Condos 1401 1425 -2%   Grand Total 2534 2580 -2%           Market Indicators                   UWCU 30 Mortgage Rate 5.25% 5.63% -7%   Keller Williams Listings* 206 431 -109%   # of showings on KW Listings 67 127 -90%   3 week trend 43 68 -59%   6 week trend 83 96 -15%   % of listings with showings 32.52% 29.47% 9%   Av DOM for KW ACT Listings 238 200 16%             *KW Listings in Dane County for 09 and WI for 08   01/12/2009

  Snow, Snow, Snow... this year, it snows almost every day.  Here in the Madison area, in December alone we had over 40 inches of snow, which broke the all time snowiest month ever.  Just because it's snowy and frigid doesn't mean you shouldn't shop for a new house.... especially with interest rates as low as they are.  And all of you first time home buyers... don't forget about the $7500 tax credit the Government is offering!!  Hey Home Buyers!   First.... if you're looking at any homes that are unoccupied or vacant, make sure to take a shovel and wear your boots.  Believe it or not, there are homeowners that don't take care of their driveways, especially if they aren't living in the house.  Nope, I'm not suggesting you shovel the entire drive, but you may need to clear a path for you... 01/11/2009