Upcoming Events this Weekend in Madison, WI: 6/23/10 to 6/27/10

Wednesday, 6/23

• Hilldale Farmer's Market, Hilldale Mall, 7am to 2pm
• American Red Cross Blood Drive, State Office Building GEF III at 125 S. Webster St., 8:15AM to 1:00PM
• Parade of Homes, Tour 26, 3pm to 7pm
• "Family Camping: Destinations on One Tank of Gas," Free, 7pm to 8 pm, West Towne REI Store

Thursday, 6/24

• Free T'ai Chi Class, Monona Terrace, 12pm to 1245pm
• Free Capitol City Band Concert, 7pm to 8pm, Rennebohm Park
• Blues and Rock Concert, Monona Terrace Rooftop, 7pm to 9pm
• Mallard's vs. Green Bay Bullfrogs baseball game, Warner Park, starts at 7:05pm

Friday, 6/25

• Stoughton Farmer's Market, 7am to 1pm, Stoughton Plaza Shopping Center on Main St.
• "Looking Down Town" kite aerial photography of Madison exhibit, displayed at the Alicia Ashman Branch of the Madison Public Library on High Point Rd., 9am to 9pm
• Bluegrass Jamboree, High Noon Saloon, starts at 9:30pm
• Anna Wang and the Oh Boys, the Come Back Inn, starts at 9:30pm

Saturday, 6/26

• Dane County Farmer's Market on the Capitol Square, 6am to 2pm
• Native American Artificact and Antique Show, free admission, Sauk County Fairgrounds in Baraboo, 9am to 5pm
• Quilts, Fabric, and Fibers Art Show, mustic by Moo Grass Band and the Swamp Bottom Boys, 12pm to 8pm, LA Rossing Building in Argyle, WI
• Sand Castle Building Contest, prizes for Most Original, Smallest, Roundest, and Best In Show, register at 266-6345, hosted by the Madison Public Library Central Branch
• Fish Fry, serving 4pm to 9pm, music by the Greg Anderson Band, Adam's Firehouse in Argyle, WI
• Atlas Improv Comedy Show, 8pm and 10pm, Electric Earth Cafe on West Wash
• Headliner Mike Merryfield at the Comedy Club on State, 8pm and 10:30pm

Sunday, 6/27

• Garden Tool Donation Collection Benefit, benefits the Community Action Coalition, donate tools at the Northside Farmer's Market, 8:30am to 12:30pm, Northside Town Center and Sherman and Northport
• Ice Age Trail Restoration, the prairies and Table Bluff need your help to remove invasive weeds and shrubs, 9am to 12pm, Table Bluff Rd. in Cross Plains, bring water!
• Tame Cat Adoption Fair, 2pm to 4pm, Sly's Place Shelter on Post Rd.

Want to know what else is going on around here? Visit http://calendar.madison.com/

Home Decorating Design Inspiration

Need some home decorating inspiration? Here's a Sneak Peak at the home of Hilda Grahnat, a 23 year old graphic design student from Sweden who has a fantastic eye for collage and all things vintage.

(Photos from designspongeonline.com)

Un-Pinking a '50s Kitchen - From the DIY Network

What's Eggshell Paint? What Color Should I Pick?

Thinking about painting the living room? Watch these first!

Report shows May home sales, condo prices up

Total Dane County home sales were up in May compared to a year ago for the 10th time in the past 11 months, with activity remaining heaviest in the $100,000 to $250,000 price range.

The South Central Wisconsin MLS this week reported 676 house and condominium sales for Dane County in May, up 18.4 percent from 571 in May 2009. The median county price in May was down 2.4 percent from a year ago, or $200,125 compared to $205,000 in May 2009.

(See the full MLS report in the attached PDF. It includes sales numbers and listings for counties throughout the region and a breakdown of additional statistics for May. Among other things, the additional data shows how people financed new homes in May -- the number paying cash vs. a conventional mortage vs. WHEDA, FHA, etc., as well as reports showing the number of current listings by price range and the number of sold listings by price range and number of bedrooms.)

Year-to-date through May, Dane County saw 2,170 sales, up 28 percent from 1,696 in the same period last year. The median price through May was down 1.7 percent, to $199,500 from $203,000 in the same period last year.

Kevin King, executive vice president of the MLS, attributed the increased sales and lagging median prices to the "flurry of activity" generated by the federal first-time home buyer tax credit for purchases signed by the end of April and closed by June 30.

First-time buyers generally buy lower-priced homes, helping to keep the median price down, among other factors such as increased foreclosures and depressed values from the housing market collapse.

King also noted pending federal legislation -- first reported in Property Trax here -- could extend the closing deadline to Sept. 30, in the face of reports that many home buyers using the credit may not be able to close by June 30 because banks are so busy processing all the new purchase agreements.

Looking at houses and condos separately in Dane County, the MLS report showed sales of houses in May up 20 percent from last year and sales of condos up 12 percent. The median sales price for houses alone was $215,000, down less than 2 percent from May 2009, while the median price for condo sales in May rose 2.3 percent to $145,000 - for only the second time this year.

Dan Miller, a Keller Williams agent who analyzes market data at DaneCountyMarket.com, called May's sales report "good," but maintained the local housing market has already started changing from what it was in May, with noticeably less buyer activity.

"Now that two years of stimulus programs have come to an end, buyer web traffic and buyer showings have slowed," Miller said. "Buyers are still out in the market, but in lower numbers."

"Sellers, it's important for you to understand the market has shifted," Miller added. "Buyers, you have plenty of opportunities in this new market."

(You can see Miller's report of the May numbers here and his blog analysis here.)

Miller also predicted that June sales would continue to be good, while the July housing report would show a drop in sales.

In other counties throughout the region, results in May were mixed, the MLS reported.

Increased sales were seen in Dodge, Green and Rock counties, while Grant County sales in May matched the tally a year ago and sales were down in Columbia, Iowa and Sauk counties. Year-to-date through May, sales in all counties were up from 2009, except in Grant County, where they were down less than 4 percent.

King said "key indicators" suggest continued moderate sales in the coming months, amid cautious optimism by analysts that the market is finally "on its way to normal."

"Inventories are still ample in most locations and price ranges," King said. "Prices continue to be relatively stable, with no major fluctuations in any direction. Interest rates are even lower today than in April, when the tax credit was winding down."

(Article by Karen Rivedal, Wisconsin State Journal Reporter)

3927 Highway JJ in Vermont, WI 53515

This beautiful Hawthorne Hill Estate sits on a private hilltop surrounded by the natural beauty of Dane County. This 5 year old all-brick home sits on +/-125 acres with woods, pasture, tillable land, and a small pond. The interior features five bedrooms, 6.5 baths, formal living and dining spaces, a library, a study and a wine cellar. The main level owner suite has a private sun room, double walk-in closets, tile shower & pajama bar. The additional in-law suite features separate laundry facilities. The home boasts an impressive heated 4-car garage, and the highest quality materials were used through every aspect of construction.

- 5 bedrooms
- 6.5 baths
- Built in 2005
- 6600 square feet
- Wisconsin Heights School District
- $1,995,000
- 56 days on market as of 6/14/10
- MLS #1591287

To schedule a showing of this property

call Nicole at (608) 513-0021!

(Listing information and photos courtesy of Mad City Homes.)

Effort begins to extend tax credit closing date

A bill introduced last week in the U.S. Senate could extend the deadline from June 30 to Sept. 30 for closings on homes purchased using the federal tax credit.

The credit -- valued at $8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for repeat buyers -- prompted a rush of sales this spring timed to beat the April 30 deadline for signed purchase agreements.

But now the June 30 deadline for closing on those sales is looking more and more problematic for many buyers, precisely because that rush is making so much extra work for bank officers and home appraisers who have to sign off on the paperwork.

Buyers trying to use short sales to purchase a house also are seeing weeks or months of delays as those often difficult transactions work their way through the involved lenders.

(In a short sale, a lender agrees to let a struggling homeowner accept less than what's owed for the house as a compromise seen as preferable to letting the home lapse into foreclosure. But it can take a long time and much documentation to get permission from the mortgage holders to do a short sale and then still more time to negotiate an acceptable price with the buyer.)

According to a blog entry sponsored by Total Mortgage, the National Association of Realtors says nearly 180,000 potential buyers who signed agreements before April 30 to get the credit could lose it because they won't have time to close before June 30.

As a solution, U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, last week co-sponsored a measure that would extend the closing deadline to Sept. 30. It's difficult to know if the measure will be approved, though, because it's been attached to another bill containing some controversial tax initiatives.

What do local agents, buyers and sellers think about extending the tax credit closing deadline? Is there a need for it here? Are you having trouble getting your deal closed by June 30?

(Article by Karen Rivedal, reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal)