October Neighborhood Sales Data

2011-11-18T08:34:00.000-08:00

June 2011 Sales Data

2011-07-13T08:51:00.000-07:00

There were three recorded sales of homes in Midvale Heights in the month of June. Even with one property lingering on the market the average time on market was just three months.
When priced appropriately homes sell well in this neighborhood!

May 2011 Sales Data

2011-06-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

May was a slower month with only three sales in Midvale Heights but values continue to hold in the neighborhood and when priced appropriately the buyers come. Here is what May brought for sales:

Click on image to enlarge

3 Things to Remember When Buying a Home

2011-05-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

This comes courtesy of Tara-Nicholle Nelson of Trulia.com

Major money transactions are stressful. Moving is stressful. Big life commitments are stressful. Put 'em all together, and what do you have? The home buying process (and the potential for one of the most stressful life experiences you'll ever have)!

But even in this volatile market where distressed properties - and people! - are commonplace, it is possible to maintain your sanity in the midst of a real estate deal - I promise.

Here are 3 money, mindset and calendar management strategies for buying a home, without stressing entirely out.

1. Work the Boy Scout program: be prepared. Scrambling for money and documents that the lender, unexpectedly, “requires” to close has got to rank up there in the top couple of stressors that buyers experience. Once you get into contract and, especially, once you’ve removed contingencies and put your deposit money on the line, every request that your lender makes seems like a ransom demand for your home - and your life, as you’d planned it.

Avoid this scrambling by being prepared. If you are planning to buy a home down the road, consult a mortgage broker and real estate pro early on in your planning process, so you can know what kind of cash you'll realistically need to close the deal - before you start the buying process. You might keep hearing about 3.5% down FHA loans, but your local pros can reality check you that it might cost an addition 5 or 6% of the purchase price just to close such a loan, in your area and price range!

If they give you a range, err on the high side - penny-scraping buyers are generally the most stressed of them all, as they are the ones whose deals are most likely to be entirely derailed if there’s an uptick in interest rates, say, during the time they are house hunting or in escrow, or if the homeowners’ insurance costs a bit more than they planned.

And have all your documents ready, too - things like divorce decrees, tax returns, updated check stubs, documentation of bills that you’ve recently paid down or off , even driver’s licenses (you wouldn’t believe the number of people who can’t produce ID when the notary needs it at the closing table!), keep all these items at the ready in case your lender requires them. By the same universal law that renders my dogs smarter and faster the wetter they get, it seems like lenders require the most documentation of the folks who have no idea where their most important papers are.

Last, but not least, there’s also an education element of preparedness. Educate yourself about the standard practices and timelines for a real estate transaction in your local market (your agent will surely be able to brief you on this, and you can also peruse Trulia Voices Community to sample the experiences of other folks buying right now in your area.) If you’re buying a bank-owned property or a short-sale, educate yourself about what this will entail - spend some time reading up on the rollercoaster of Wild Westiness (a mixed metaphor, I know, but still appropriate) that some distressed property sales can be, from the buyer’s point of view.

When it comes to buying a home, realistic expectations will set you free. Stress-free, that is.

2. Keep your timelines as flexible as possible, as long as possible. Rarely does the sun set in America without some homebuyer (or 5) near you lying awake in bed wondering how long they’ll have to:
    a) keep bunking with their in-laws,
    b) keep paying the nightly rate for the all-suite hotel down the street from the place         they’re buying,
    c) keep paying the daily fee for the moving truck which is parked outside,
        containing everything they own,
    d) keep begging their landlord to please, please, please give them another 24 hours
    - and they swearing they’ll be out after that (even though they said that
        yesterday!),
    e) keep pushing back the vacation days they took off work for the move that seems         like it will never happen, or
    f) some combination or all of the above,

all because their escrow is not closing on the timeline they expected it to.

There are as many reasons for late escrow closings as there are insomniac homebuyers facing this issue: buyer’s loan underwriting is taking too long, seller’s short sale application is still being processed, appraisal is glitchy, bank-owned property asset manager is slow to produce the necessary signatures, and the list goes on.

More important than knowing the causes, though, is having the awareness that escrow closing dates are not set in stone until the end is very, very near - and that the problem of delayed closing comes up with ever-increasing frequency these days. Buyers who are trying to time their closing so that they move out of their apartment on the exact day they plan to close are likely to be disappointed - and temporarily homeless - in the current market climate.

Best practice is to plan on some overlapping days, weeks or even a month between the time you should be able to move into your next home, and the time you must be out of your current home, if you can afford it. Keep your moving plans flexible as long as possible - I’ve know a number of buyers who didn’t realize their move would be delayed until they were signing their closing docs!

Also, it’s sanity-making to try to keep some flexibility about your daily calendar while you are in escrow, lest you need to show up at the property and get some additional inspections, unexpectedly, which were recommended by your inspector. If you only have a couple of days before you must remove your inspection contingency, you might have to drop everything and stop in at the place for an hour here or there. You might also need to stop in at the bank - in person - to wire cash when it’s time to increase your deposit or pay your down payment or closing costs into escrow. This cannot usually be done over the phone or outside of banker’s hours, so if you can be a bit flexible for these outings, calendar-wise, you’ll be in good shape.

3. Pre-approve the folks across the bargaining table from you. There’s nothing worse than doing every thing you’re supposed to do, then having the deal fall apart at the last minute, through no fault of your own. I’ve known scores of buyers whose short sales failed to get approved by the seller’s bank and fell out of escrow as a result. I’ve also seen and heard from buyers whose deals died when their intended properties failed to meet the buyer’s mortgage guidelines because of condition problems like incomplete kitchen remodel jobs, mold or electrical problems and high-cost pest report items that neither the buyer nor the seller can afford to repair.

These ailing transactions can be prevented by early diagnosis: vet the other party’s qualifications and ability to close the deal, before you get into contract. For buyers, this can mean having your agent collect as much information as possible about the seller’s equity position, how underwater the home is, which banks are involved and how successful the listing agent is at closing short sale transactions - all of these things can give your agent and yourself a big old clue as to whether a short sale is likely to close. Similarly, if you’re getting an FHA loan, before you make an offer, walk through the property with your agent and troubleshoot it for condition problems that might come up during the appraisal.

With this information you can make an informed decision whether to move forward and try to buy the place; if you get into contract knowing it’s a crap shoot, at least you’ll have realistic expectations - the sort that are very difficult to disappoint.

Brush Collection

2011-05-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has wondered "When is this pile of branches going to be picked up from the curb?". This morning I found out and now you can too! Just go to the city's web site at http://www.cityofmadison.com/streets/
I hope this helps.

April 2011 Sales

2011-05-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

We are definately in the second quarter! Here are the latest sales in Midvale Heights for the month of April. Click image to enlarge

Home Compost Bin and Rain Barrel sale

2011-04-13T19:30:00.000-07:00

The City of Madison and Dane County will hold their annual home compost bin and rain barrel sale on Saturday, May 7. This one-day only sale will feature the Earth Machine Home Composter and the Systern rain barrel. The Earth Machine will be on sale for $45, tax included and the Systern will sell for $50 tax included.

The sale will take place at the Alliant Energy Center. Customers should use the Olin Ave entrance. Middleton Public Works Garage 3300 Laura Lane. Alliant Energy Center sale hours are 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. The Middleton sale hours are 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

2011 First Quarter Sales

2011-04-09T05:55:00.000-07:00

The results are in for the first quarter of the year in Midvale Heights and the results are encouraging.

According to data gathered from South Central Wisconsin MLS Midvale Heights had seven recorded sales from 1/1/2011 to 3/31/2011. None were distress sales (foreclosure or short sale). Initial list prices ranged from $189,900 to $309,750 with sold prices from $145,000 to $285,000. It is worth noting the cumulative days on the market vs. days on market following a property's last price change. In some sales it appears that a price correction helped bring in an offer that lead to the sale. On average sales occurred withing three months of being put on market.

Compare that to the first quarter of 2010 when there were four recorded sales in Midvale Heights. The average initial list price was $223,800 and average sold price was $219,125. We had 75% more sales this quarter compared to last year with a small 2.3% drop in price. Days on market were also close compared to last year's 78 day average.

I conclude that Midvale Heights is holding steady in this still-struggling economy. And this data also shows that when a property is priced right (assuming it is in good condition) an offer will soon follow.

Welcome to Midvale Heights Blog!

2011-04-03T19:39:00.000-07:00

Hi. My name is Chad Sperry and I am happy to call Midvale Heights my neighborhood. I have lived here with my wife and two kids since 2006 and my appreciation of this area continues to grow. I'm launching this blog as a resource for both current residents and anyone who might be considering moving to this part of Madison. I look forward to future postings and hearing from you.

Midvale Heights Market Blog