Wisconsin Real Estate & Wisconsin Living presented by First Weber Group

It is with great pleasure we share that First Weber Group received three awards for our real estate services at Leading Real Estate Companies of the World‘s conference which drew over 1,000 brokers to Orlando in early March.

The awards are:

Global Alliance Most Outgoing Closings Award, which recognizes the member with the most outgoing closed referrals resulting from client introductions made across country borders and was awarded the Million Dollar Most Outgoing Closings Award, which is presented to the affiliate with the most outgoing closed referrals with an actual sales price of $1 million or greater.

We are also very proud to announce that our website, firstweber.com, has earned the 2011 Website Quality Certification (WQC), presented byLeading Real Estate Companies of the World^® to member companies that have demonstrated excellence in website design, functionality and execution.

Congratulations to our Relocation Department and agents for working hard to win such an honor!  To search real estate for sale in Wisconsn, please see firstweber.com. If you need to move nationally, contact First Weber’s Relocation Department or search global properties for sale right here with First Weber Group as part of the great organization Leading Real Estate Companies of the World.

Thanks for reading the First Weber Wisconsin real estate & Wisconsin living blog.

It’s likely that we’ve probably all been to some of Wisconsin’s more popular tourist spots like the Dells, Door County or have been “up north” at one time or another to take in the sights of Wisconsin.  But how many times have we explored Wisconsin’s rich heritage through visiting our historic sites?

Here are some of Travel Wisconsin’s top 25 historic sites in Wisconsin. Take a look and see how many you’ve visited – or which ones you’d like to.

1. Azatlan State Park Archeaological site.

Wisconsin has a rich Native American heritage, for those of you unfamiliar with the area. Many of our difficult to pronounce city and town names are of Native American origin.  This site was a major Native American village, then abandoned before Columbus landed in America.  More here.

2. Circus World Museum, Baraboo.

This museum holds the largest collection of Circus Wagons in the world and still has circus shows running. More here.

3. Fort Crawford Military Hospital, Prairie du Chien.

Formerly known as the Museum of Medical progress, this hospital opened in 1831. The museum takes a look at medicine and medical instruments through the years. Here’s more about the many historic places in and near Prairie du Chien

4. H.H. Bennett Studio and History Center.

A bit of history in downtown Wisconsin Dells offers a look into the life, the equipment, the studio and the many incredible photographs taken by photographer H.H. Bennett – the man who made Wisconsin Dells famous.  It is a wonderful place to get a feel for the Dells before it became the waterpark capital of the world. More here.

5. Laura Ingalls Wilder cabin, Pepin.

The “Little House on the Prairie” author was born here and her tales of childhood in the big woods and as a pioneer on the prairie remain classics today.  More here.

6. Old World Wisconsin, Eagle.

This recreation of a working pioneer community consists of 60 historic structures and is the largest historic site of its kind.  Take a trip back in time with a visit to Old World Wisconsin.

7. Pendarvis, Mineral Point.

Mineral Point was a mining town in the 1830′s and is fun to explore for a day or two, with many local artists in addition to the state historic site of Pendarvis. Pendarvis depicts life as it was for Cornish Immigrants who came to Mineral Point to mine for lead.

8. Taliesin, Spring Green Wisconsin.

Visit the home of one of the most famous architects of all time, Frank Lloyd Wright, designer of the Guggenheim Museum and Fallingwater.  Taliesin, his person residence, is a sprawling house set in the rolling hills of Spring Green – even a drive by and a stop at the visitor center is worth it. The website says tours begin May 1. 

How many of these historic sites have you been to?

Whether you live in Wisconsin, are thinking about moving here, or just visiting, Wisconsin offers much to see and do and a great quality of life.

Thanks for reading the First Weber Wisconsin real estate & Wisconsin living blog for information about Wisconsin’s historic sites. For information on Wisconsin real estate for sale, please see firstweber.com. If you are relocating to Wisconsin and need assistance, please see our Relocation Department pages and contact First Weber.

photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/10558398@N02/1113746929/ via cc license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/deed.en

Anytime there is a “best” list for real estate, we always hope to be on it.  This time, a major market in Wisconsin is.  Madison, Wisconsin is considered to be one of the 9 markets in the country with rising real estate values.  According to research done by Zillow, Madison came in at #4 on the list of markets with the greatest year-over-year median home value increases from October 2010 to October 2011.

Madison #4 with a 1.3% increase in median home values

The top winner is Tulsa, OK with a year over year change of 6.2% increase in median home value. Most of the markets averaged 1.6%. Madison came in with 1.3% increase in median home value in this report with a Median home vale of $192,400.

To see the whole list, see this Inman article

Madison was also named to another favorable list: The best run cities in America

24/7  Wall St has completed it’s first annual ranking of best and worst run cities and Madison, WI made the best list at number 3 out of the 100 largest cities.

The economies of the best run cities in America create employment opportunities and Madison consistently has a low average unemployment rate, with major employers being the University of Wisconsin Madison, UW hospitals, State Government and businesses such as Rayovac and American Family Insurance.

Some facts about Madison noted in 24/7 Wall Street’s report on the 100 largest cities:

• Madison, WI had the 21st lowest crime level
• Madison, WI had the 40th lowest poverty rate
• Madison, WI had the 3rd highest adult population high school graduation rate of 95.1%
• Madison, WI has a stable credit rating.

Moving to Madison

If both these “best lists” sound good to you, learn more about Madison and the real estate available for sale there.  First Weber has numerous real estate offices in the Madison area, and almost 50 across the state of Wisconsin. Our Full service Relocation Department could assist you in relocating to Madison, WI.

Thank you for reading the First Weber Wisconsin real estate & Wisconsin living blog  for information on Madison, WI: rising home values and a well managed city.

photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/rahimageworks/5350133212/

If you are looking for real estate in the Sun Prairie, WI area, we’re pleased to mention that the First Weber Sun Prairie office was voted “Best real estate office” by readers of the Sun Prairie Star, for the third year in a row. That’s a nice endorsement.  Please check out Sun Prairie real estate at firstweber.com and visit the First Weber Sun Prairie office page to see agents in the office.

If you are relocating to the Sun Prairie, Wisconsin area, you’ll find the Star’s report of interest because it ranks the “Best of” for all kinds of life’s “necessities” in Sun Prairie such as best breakfast, best dry cleaner, best coffee, best dentist, best eye care, best produce selection, best lawn service and much more. You can check out the full Best of Sun Prairie report here.  Thanks to the voters in the Sun Prairie, Wisconsin area who voted First Weber Group the best real estate office three years running!  We appreciate your confidence.

If you are interested in moving to Sun Prairie, WI, we have a full time Wisconsin Relocation Department to assist you.  You can see real estate for sale in Sun Prairie at firstweber.com. There are currently over 200 homes for sale in Sun Prairie, priced from the $60,000 range to well over $500,000.

Thank you for reading the First Weber Wisconsin real estate & Wisconsin living blog for information on the best of Sun Prairie, including First Weber’s Sun Prairie real estate office.

First Weber Group received two awards in the Greater Madison area recently:

2011 Star of Madison, voting sponsored by madison.com

2011 Executive Choice In Business Magazine

We thank the public and executives who voted First Weber into these top spots and thank our readers for allowing us to share this good news.  When it is time for you to choose a Wisconsin real estate broker to help you buy or sell, we hope your vote will be First Weber Group as well.

See the whole In Business Executive Choice list

See 2011 Star of Madison list.  This list can be useful if you are looking for people’s top choices for everything from hosptials, fitness centers, car dealerships, cell phone providers and much more in the Madison area.  Quite the resource for anyone relocating to the Madison area. (First Weber can help with that relocation, too)

Thanks for reading the First Weber Wisconsin real estate & Wisconsin living blog.

photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertvega/3944132320/