First Weber Group REALTORS®: Wisconsin Real Estate

Home affordability is at a record high -- more buyers can afford to buy.  That is the good news of this real estate market.  Other good pieces of news are that interest rates remain low, there are tax credit opportunities (Remember, this is not just for first time buyers.  Must have Accepted offer by April 30) and even a Job Loss Protection program offered through First Weber. 

Are you thinking about buying Wisconsin property but are still hesitant?  Have you looked at Wisconsin real estate for sale recently?  What do you think of the prices? 

image courtesy of kcmblog

In the words of Steve Harney, author of the Keeping Current Matter's blog with a really good article on this affordability issue "This is the best time to buy a home. Don’t wait for the Tax Credit to end and interest rates to climb. Find the house you want and buy it." 

You can search about 80,000 properties across Wisconsin at firstweber.com.  It really is a good place to start, if we do say so ourselves. 

If you receive this blog via email, please click on the post headline to go to the blog and comment.  Thanks for reading and thank you for your comments.

LancerE Flickr photo

Hot off the press - the year end Metro Milwaukee MLS stats are in.  Overall, the metro MLS sales were up 5.9% over 2008.  That equals 14,321 homes and condos  sold versus 13,523 in 2008. 

If we do county by county, the overall results are positive.

Milwaukee County real estate: Sales up 11.3% over 2008.  In 8 out of 12 months, 2009 sales beat 2008's

Waukesha County real estate: Sales down a mere 1.9% compared to 2008.  In 5 out of 12 months, 2009 sales beat 2008's, including a 70% gain in November.

Ozaukee County real estate: Sales were up 1.4% over 2008.  In 5 out of 12 months, 2009 sales beat 2008's, including a 63.9% gain in June and 118.9% gain in November.

Washington County real estate: Sales up 1.7% over 2008.  In 5 out of 12 motnhs, sales beat 2008's, including a 114.3% increase in November.

Racine County real estate: Sales were down just 1.1% compared to 2008.  Racine had 6 months in 2009 in which more real estate was sold than in 2008.  Racine Country real estate showed a great December with an increase of almost 20% over last December.

Home prices were down, but not a tremendous amount.  The price drop is said to be mostly a result of the sale of starter homes or those on the lower end of the price bracket which brings down the average sales price.

There's no telling what is in the future for Wisconsin real estate in 2010, however, we expect a solid spring thanks to the extended and expanded home buyer tax credit.  To qualify, a binding offer to purchase must be in place by April 30, 2010.  The property must close by July 1st. 

Are you thinking of selling? Buying?  Check out this tax credit information. And here's is a Job Loss Protection program a First Weber seller can offer to a potential buyer to help close the deal.  

We hope you choose to work with First Weber in 2010.  Thanks for reading.

Market Statistics for Dane County - 1st, 2nd and 3rd Quarter 2009

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

Home buyers have numerous advantages these days - lower prices, increased selection - and some challenges such as stricter lending. While these changes may make home buying a little more difficult, they also seem more sensible.  Think about what you are buying; buy within your means; stick to reputable lenders/mortgage products; treat your property for what it is... a place to live.  A complete AP story on the subject is available at msnbc.com 

NAR reports Pending home sales are up for the fifth consecutive month nationally! Affordability is excellent, the First Time Home Buyer Tax credit window of opportunity is narrowing (you must close by November 30, 2009).  Think it is going to be a very exciting fall market! 

If you're ready to buy Wisconsin real estate, now is a very attractive time.  Check out what's available on firstweber.com.  Remember, here you will find listings all over Wisconsin, not just our own!  Good luck and let First Weber Group know if we can assist you in any way.

The REALTORS Association of South Central Wisconsin reports an increase in sales activity in every county in its reporting area in May, 2009.  Dane County saw an especially nice rise of 36.7%.  A rise in sales is typical at this time of year - but this year's increase of over 36% beats the 23.3% increase Dane County saw in 2007 during the same time frame.

Sales prices have declined, but much less than nationally. In 2007, Dane County's median sales price was $210,000. This year it is $202,000.  With the current market attractive to the first time home buyer ($8,000 tax credit which expires by December 1, 2009) a decrease in average sales price may mean more activity in the lower end of the market.

There are currently almost 11,000 single family homes for sale in The South Central Wisconsin MLS.  The average list price is $255,000.

There are just over 3,000 condos for sale in South Central MLS with an average list price of $215,000.

Homes are selling in Wisconsin.  During the month of May, 2009 131  0-2 Bedrooms homes sold; 554  3 bedrooms homes sold; 265  4+ bedrooms homes sold and 169 condos were sold.  There is still a great amount of inventory available. 

If there are additional statistics you are looking for in another county or city, please send us a questions or a comment.  First Weber and firstweber.com cover the vast majority of Wisconsin and certainly have access to a wide variety of information.  We'd be happy to help.

If you'd like to search real estate, naturally we'd suggest firstweber.com.  Not only because it is our website  - if you  want the most Wisconsin listings, it is one of the Wisconsin real estate websites with the most. Hope you pay us a visit.

What's going on in the changing real estate business in Wisconsin? A lot.  Several Wisconsin companies are merging, some are changing names. (Rountree Realty, Platteville, WI has recently joined First Weber Group, for example.)  Some, like First Weber Group are developing and using new technologies to be more efficient and take new routes to market real estate.  An article on the Wausau Daily Herald here outlines some of those changes, including the way of smart phones, mobility and texting have changed to meet the needs of the changing consumer. 

First Weber is mentioned in the Wausau Daily Times article for the Front Runner multi-media marketing program as well as the I Phone app for Wisconsin real estate:

"Those who like to peruse real estate listings online might want to check out Front Runner, the new interactive multi-media marketing package adopted by First Weber Group.

The system caters to tech-savvy consumers by taking advantage of popular social networking sites, YouTube and Web-enabled smart phones. It is designed to ensure maximum exposure for all listings, and allows potential buyers to instantly text with an agent.

In addition, First Weber has incorporated iPhone technology, using GPS to instantly show users every available home in the area in which they are looking.

First Weber can be found locally at 1818 Grand Ave. in Wausau, 2007 North Mountain Road in Rib Mountain, and 101 E. First St. in Merrill. Visit www.firstweber.com."

First Weber Group has 50 locations across the state of Wisconsin and Front Runner is available automatically for every First Weber listing. 

We are pretty proud of it and would love to hear from those of you who have used our Front Runner real estate marketing system. Comments welcome.

Great news, long article here.  HUD issued a release yesterday that the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit can be used for downpayments and closing costs on FHA mortgages.  That is another new door opened to first time home buyers.  Talk with First Weber Group REALTOR today to get started. 

Buying a home is an interesting process and it can be intimidating for first timers.  First Weber agents do this everyday and would be happy to guide you, answer your questions, help you get more information on what you can afford.  Here is some information for first time home buyers in Wisconsin: a synopsis of the credit, information on financing and a home buying flow chart.

Let one of our agents know when you are ready to start the process. Credit expires December 1 2009.  If you search firstweber.com, you'll be searching thousands of properties across the state - and not just First Weber listings either - ALL participating brokers.  Did you know that?

Wisconsin sure had its fair share of flooding this year.  There was devastating losses.  FEMA was in many counties assisting for weeks.

Check out FEMA's new digitized flood maps here.  Not all states have the new digitized maps, but Wisconsin is one of them. According to REALTOR.org, by 2010, 65% of US Land will be covered by the maps.

According to the article referenced above, FEMA has revised flood plain information and homeowners should check the maps to see if flood insurance is now something they have to look into buying.

The maps are giant and a little hard to use, but worth a peek.

Interesting article about why to sell now.

Some sellers don't want to sell now because they fear the price of their home may have fallen in recent years (after it also rose a whole bunch in previous years, making it more valuable than when they bought it, in most cases.) While the sales price of their current home may not be run up to 2005 levels, the price of homes available for purchase is also lower. Making moving up to a bigger, better home more affordable.

What you may lose in a sales price you can gain in a purchase price

Think about it! The time may be right for you.

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.

"With Building Costs Down, Now is the Time to Build a Custom Home" from rismedia.com makes a great point.  Just as it is a good time to buy an existing home at today's lower prices, the cost for building custom are down as well.  If either has been in the back of your mind, take advantage of today's opportunities.

First Weber Group has long had relationships with many reputatble builders and even have a special section on firstweber.com devoted to those who want to build.  Check out First Weber's Builder's Marketplace to search for a builder in your area or price range.

According to Realty Trac, The US Foreclosure activity is up 75% in 2007.  This is a scary number and a scary way to use the statistic.  A different way of relaying the same story is that 1.033% of the nations' households is experiencing foreclosure. 1%.  Makes you think a little differently, doesn't it.

While the increase in foreclosures is not a pretty story and a very real problem, looking at the numbers a different way can do away with much of the sensationalism, doom and gloom reporting you see everyday. We need more positive news. Foreclosure is affecting a very small percentage of the population.  While it is true there has been a 75% increase, looking at the big picture provides a better perspective.

Wisconsin is faring considerably better than the nation and many of our midwest neighbors.  A really interesting statistic is that Utah, one of the few states that has seen a decrease in foreclosures, still has a higher foreclosure rate than Wisconsin's at .852% of households.