First Weber Group REALTORS®: Wisconsin Real Estate

If you are a home seller in Wisconsin, this article may be of interest to you. Let us know what you think. Scott Swick of First Weber writes about myths and opinions below:

In today’s uncertain real estate market, fear runs rampant.  Many sellers are listening to the national media and coming to the conclusion that it is a bad time to sell their home.  But like most myths, these need debunking. Here are five myths sellers tend to believe.

Seller Myth No. 1:  “Now is the worst time to sell your home.”

Real estate is local. It depends on where you live. Many of the worst hit markets, like Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles or Miami, are already turning around and are experiencing huge sales increases. Here in Fond du Lac County, we saw home prices drop only 2.6% last year.  If you are a homeowner who wants to trade up to a new home, the lower price you might get on your current home will be more than offset by the bargain you’ll receive on the next one.  Don’t measure your financial status by what your home sells for, but by the net gain or loss of the sale of your existing home PLUS the purchase of your next home. It almost always works out in your favor.

Seller Myth No. 2:  “Never respond to a low ball bid.”  

Right now, it’s true that you are going to see more low ball offers than we did a few years ago. And today, with all the stories in the media, buyers today almost feel obligated to put in a low ball offer to see if the seller will bite. But if you respond with a reasonable counter offer, most buyers can be convinced to come up in price and make the deal.  I have a philosophy at our office with all our real estate professionals, “As much as it depends on you, don’t let the offer die in your client’s lap.”  Always come back with a counter offer. You will be surprised at how many times they other party stays in the negotiation and you finally come to common ground and a deal can be made. Never let it die in your lap.

Seller Myth No. 3: “The first offer is never the best offer.” 

While the first offer may not be the best offer, what is really true, 4 times out of 5, is the first buyer is the best buyer.  A lot of sellers believe that it’s smart to hold out for someone better. But the first buyer is most likely going to finally agree to the highest price you’ll ever get for your home. That’s because 75% of the prospective buyers are going to come to your house in the first 30 days you listed it. After you walk away from that buyer who actually made an offer hoping you’ll get something better, the other prospects have walked away too and gone on to another home…and probably written an offer on it.

Seller Myth No. 4: “I can always reduce my price later.” 

Sellers often want to price their home high for a few weeks just to test the market. But buyers shop by price bracket and if your house is in the wrong one, you’ll just help sell everyone else’s home while yours sits there…overpriced.  Reducing your price later in small increments puts you in the position of chasing the tide as it goes out. We can spend a million dollars to advertise a home, but if it’s not priced right, it will not sell. We need to wake up that this is a buyer’s market. Unless you are willing to wait a year or so to sell your house, price your home to sell within the next 4 months or less. Because if you price it too high, the only house that will sell is your neighbors’.

Sellers Myth No. 5: “I have to have my home sold before I can buy or build a new one.”

The fact is that you as soon as you have your home on the market, you should be either making an offer on an existing home, or selecting a builder to build a new one. You can always structure your offer to be contingent on the sale of your existing home if you prefer. If you decide to build, there are a few builders who have financing programs such as a “no payments during construction loan,” or a “commission rebate program,” or a “trade up program” where they will buy your existing home if it hasn’t sold by the time they are finished building your new home. Building has become incredibly attractive this last year. A local lumber company told me last week that lumber prices are the same level we had back in 1977, a 32 year low. With the lower prices we are seeing from subcontractors and suppliers, building a new home is an incredible deal right now.

The buyer’s market window is closing in 2009. Don’t miss out on your chance to move up by buying into someone else’s myth.

By Scott Swick, General Manager, Fond du Lac First Weber Group

As buyers take advantage of the tax credit.  Home Sales posted the largest monthly gain in 10 years, the AP reports at msnbc.com

Start NOW if you are a first time buyer to take advantage of the tax credit.  It takes time to find a home you want to buy and when you do, there's paperwork, inspections, financing....  Find your perfect property at firstweber.com and let us know when you are ready to take the step - just don't wait too long!

South Central WI real estate statistics show almost 1300 homes & condos sold in June 2009.  (stats courtesy of SCWMLS)

Breakouts are below:

158 homes with 2 bedrooms or less sold that month, with the majority of them being in the $80,000-$249,900 price range. The average sales price for 2 bedrooms or less was $121,203

648 homes with 3 bedrooms sold that month, with the majority of them in the $120,000-$299,900 price range. The average sales price was $175,452.

311 homes sold in June 2009 with 4 bedrooms or more. The most popular price range was $$160,000-$399,900 and the average sales price was $241,145.

171 Condos/Co-ops were sold during June 2009 with the majority being in the $100,000-$250,000 price range. The average sales price was $169,616.

On the listing side, There are just over 10,700 single family homes for sale in this MLS and 3034 Condos.  Plenty to choose from and the prices are right!

If there are specific real estate statistics you are looking for in South Central Wisconsin, (or almost anywhere in Wisconsin) please leave a comment or ask a question.  We'll do our best to provide the answers you are looking for. Thanks for reading First Weber's Wisconsin real estate blog.

Thinking about writing an offer? Here are a few tips to help position your offer for acceptance. http://tinyurl.com/mfntys This was originally shared via our twitter account.

We'd be honored to have you subsrcibe to our blog updates via RSS feed or email, or follow us on twitter.  Follow First Weber on twitter here...  We'll use a mix of blogging and twitter (and can't forget Facebook) to connect with our customers and clients. 

Is there something on your mind that we could help with?

Thank you to the Wisconsin REALTORS Association for the "Wisconsin Foreclosure Assistance Resource Center" website.  Please share the link with anyone you know who may be in need for some help or education on the topic. It's a very nice presentation of an unfortunate topic, divided up into Survival Kit section, Prevention Kit Section and a Public Information section.   Nice job, WRA.

Short video here, also from the WRA.

Like Habitat for Humanity but more... Homes for our Troops helps to build adapted homes for severly injured veterans. First Weber has helped.  Bob Larson and Roxanne Platz of First Weber's Lake Country office got involved in the project first, then did a great job of involving the rest of First Weber and the First Weber Foundation.  

Because of their efforts and the donations of friends and real estate agents, First Weber has Reached the $10,000.00 donations mark: $5,000 from the First Weber Foundation, the rest from our fundraising efforts .

Great job, great cause.  Special thanks to Bob Larson and Roxanne Platz for spearheading this great program.  Several of our concierge program members have donated their services. There is still more needed to build this Waukesha, Wisconsin home for solider Jason Schultz.  You can watch a video about Jason here. 

If you would like to contribute to First Weber's Fund raiser for Jason and Homes For Our Troops, please go here.

PMI Mortgage Insurance Company recently published a report called United States Market Risk Index.  In it, the 50 largest metro areas (MSAs) across the country are given a US Market Risk Index score which predicts the probability that house prices will be lower in 2 years than they are at the time of the report.  The worst markets, including Las Vegas and Phoenix, have a Risk rank of 1, or High.  Their PMI US Market Risk indexes (percentage of probability that prices would be lower two years from now) were 91.9% and 84.0% respectively

Milwaukee/Waukesha/West Allis Metropolitain Statistical area (the only statistical area in Wisconsin tracked in this report) received a risk rank score of 5 = Minimal risk. 

The PMI US Market Risk Index for this area was just 1.5%.  In other words, according to this report, there is less than 2% chance for price declines in Milwaukee/Waukesha/West Allis MSA the next 2 years.

That's the best news I have heard in a long time and hopefully the last piece of the puzzle for any buyer wondering if buying real estate in Wisconsin is a good idea.  To move ahead, please contact First Weber Group, we sell real estate all over Wisconsin and can help.

Wisconsin home sales have been outperforming most states. "While home sales in Wisconsin have certainly slowed when compared to the record levels of 2005, our local markets are far less volitile than housing markets elsewhere in the country", said WRA Chairman Michael Spranger. Spranger, a VP with First Weber Group, also said "We're not in the same kind of trouble you read about in other markets around the country. The fundamental elements of a stable real estate market remain strong in Wisconsin."

A softer market offers credit-worthy first time buyers and opportunity to get into homes that might otherwise be out of reach.  It won't last forever. Buy smart now.

2007 4th Quarter data by county and zip code from the metro Milwaukee MLS system:

Milwaukee County: % of asking price very good.  Note several zip codes had value increases, most notably 53204

Above is a random selection of zip codes. If you would like information on a different zip, please send us a comment and we can provide the info.

Ozaukee County: Ozaukee County real estate showed price increases in many zip codes!

Above is a random selection of zip codes. If you would like information on a different zip, please send us a comment and we can provide the info.

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[John Deininger, of the REALTORS Association of South Central Wisconsin) The January, 2008 statistics are now available, and should surprise no one.  In a winter of record snowfalls, where we could reach nearly three times the “average” snowfall; and icy roads, where just venturing out is an adventure; one might assume that numbers would be down.   The idea of purchasing a home when you can’t look at the roof, (since it’s covered with a foot of snow); or admiring the landscape, (since it’s covered with two feet of snow), can be a real challenge.  Unless there is a strong motivation or need to move, most people are holding on until Mother Nature cooperates a little more.

When you look at the entire reporting area for the South Central Wisconsin MLS, the residential market looks very balanced.  During January, there were 86 reported sales of properties under $100,000; there were 99 reported sales of properties between $100,000 and $139,999; there were 103 reported sales of properties between $140,000 and $179,000; there were 100 reported sales of properties between $180,000 and $249,000; and 100 reported sales over $250,000.  Although the market has slowed, there is activity at all price points. 

As anticipated, new listings have increased after the first of the year, with some areas doubling the number of new listings boarded in December.  While the high inventories create a challenge for sellers, the market remains very attractive for buyers.  First time buyers need confidence in the market, and to understand the opportunities that currently exist.  People are used to and accept stock market fluctuations that can vary widely, but simply aren’t used to a housing market that does anything but boom.  The goal is to educate the public, that although housing is cyclical, they are purchasing a tangible asset that provides shelter and tax advantages.  Any investment advisor will tell you not to try to “time” the market, and the same holds true for real estate.  The time to buy is now.