Daily Show: Even Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner Can't Sell His House

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Hilarious.

Buyers Are Gaining Leverage

Dan Miller - Keller Williams Realty 8/19/2009 7:42 am Dane County Real Estate

Two months ago we looked at the percent of Dane County MLS listings under contract (i.e. the percent of listings with an accepted offer).

On June 20th, 22% of all single family home listings had an accepted offer. In other words for every one single family home listing under contract, another 3.5 listings were working for an accepted offer. As of August 18th, the percent of homes under contract dipped to 17%. For every home under contract, another 5 listings were working for an accepted offer. You'll see from the chart below the percent of homes under contract has dipped for most price categories. Homes priced under $225,000 tend to have a greater percentage of listings under contract.

The numbers demonstrate the seasonality of the market and make it clear buyers are gaining leverage as we enter the fall season. We're seeing a lot of price reductions from sellers right now. In many cases, those sellers would have been wise to lower their prices earlier this spring or summer, when more buyers were out in the market.

(Article and graph from http://www.madison.com/)

Madison WI's Taste of Madison Event!

The Taste of Madison

Saturday, September 5th: 2pm to 9pm
and
Sunday, September 6th: 11am to 7pm

• 60+ restaurants and caterers
• 3 stages with 5 music formats
• Huge TV screen showing the Badger game Saturday night
• 20 beverage stands, including soda, water, beer, wine, and milk
• Thousands of dollars raised for United Cerebral Palsy
• More than 200 menu items to sample
• Tons of live musical performances - all FREE!

Held each year over Labor Day weekend, the event showcases more than 65 local restaurants, 20 beverage stands and four entertainment stages. The participating restaurants sell a vast variety of both unique and traditional dishes to the estimated 150,000 attendees over the two-day period. And every food item is reasonably priced from $1 to $4. Best of all, admission to the event – which includes hours and hours of live entertainment – is free and open to the public.

Taste of Madison - www.tasteofmadison.com
For an alphabetical list of participating restaurants, their menus, and their prices - click here!
To view a PDF map of the restaurants on the square - click here!
For a line-up of bands performing on each of the five stages - click here!
To buy Taste of Madison t-shirts - click here!

The Office Season Six Premiere!

Mark your calendars with a beet like we did because The Office Season Six Premiere is coming soon!!!

September 17th, 9/8c

(Recap on Season 5 - watch full episodes on nbc.com here!)

Kid's Room Home Staging Tip: Tutu Table

A whimsical way to―literally―dress up a nightstand: Wrap a tutu around the edge of a kitchen stool and secure it with double-sided tape.

(Tip and photo from www.realsimple.com)

Middleton Good Neighbor Festival 2009

Middleton's Good Neighbor Festival!

When: August 28th through 30th, 2009

Where: Middleton's Fireman's Park

More Info: http://www.goodneighborfestival.com/

Parade

• Sunday - 12:00 pm, University Avenue

Carnival

• Friday - 5:00 pm to 12:00 am
• Saturday - 11:00 am to 12:00 am
• Sunday - 11:00 am to 7:00 pm
• Unlimited-ride Wrist Bands: Saturday - 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

5k Run/Walk

• Saturday - 9:00 am
• On-site registration - 8:00 am at Capital Brewery

Kids Games

• Mascot Challenge: Saturday - 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
• Sack Race, Wheelbarrow Race, Fireman Race, Balloon Toss, Etc: Saturday - 11:30 am

Craft Fair

• Saturday & Sunday - 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Bands & Entertainment

• Friday - 6:00 pm: David Landau, TDS Tent
• Friday - 6:30 pm: The Midwesterners, VFW Tent
• Friday - 7:30 pm: Apparently Nothing, TDS Tent
• Friday - 9:00 pm: Little Vito and the Torpedoes, VFW Tent
• Friday - 9:45 pm: John Masino Band, TDS Tent
• Saturday - 10:00 am: Kiddie Dog Show, TDS Tent
• Saturday - 11:30 am: UB The Band, TDS Tent
• Saturday - 2:30 pm: Westport Square Dancers, VFW Tent
• Saturday - 3:00 pm: Social Misfits, TDS Tent
• Saturday - 4:45 pm: Tony Rocker and the Comeback Special, VFW Tent
• Saturday - 5:00 pm: Bluetrain, TDS Tent
• Saturday - 8:00 pm: Gomers Good Neighbor Idol, TDS Tent
• Saturday - 9:00 pm: Mid-life Crisis, VFW Tent
• Sunday - 2:00 pm: Human Nature, TDS Tent
• Sunday - 2:00 pm: Fuzzy Side Up, VFW Tent
• Sunday - 3:45 pm: American English, VFW Tent
• Sunday - 4:30 pm: DIG, TDS Tent
• Sunday - 6:3o pm: Raffle Drawing, TDS Tent
  

Madison On the List of Best Places to Buy a Home!

The struggling housing market has sellers and buyers searching for the best regions to get a great deal.

Nationwide, home values are down 12 percent, compared with the same time a year ago, according to real estate website Zillow.com.

Zillow, which tracks virtually every house sale in the nation, has ranked the top five best locations for home buyers and sellers.

The results may surprise you, because the best places to buy a home are not necessarily where the houses cost the least.

"For people who are financially qualified, it never has been a better time in nearly 40 years," said Lawrence Yun, at the National Association of Realtors. "I think this is good long-term investment opportunity to get into the market now."

When you go to buy a house, low-priced markets not the only factor you should consider.

"The No. 1 factor for a market holding its value over time has to do with what types of jobs are fueling the local economy," said Amy Bohuntinsky, of Zillow.com

Look for communities with a strong job market and stable housing values. Some common threads: cities with military bases, state capitals and college towns all fare well because they are more "recession proof," according to Zillow. A strong tourism industry helps too.

No matter where you buy, statistics show you should stay at least seven years if you hope to turn a profit on your house.

"We're not out of the woods yet as far as a housing market that's declining," Bohuntinsky said. "But if you're thinking about living in the home for seven years or more, you're likely to ride this out and that's really important for buyers to think about when figuring out where to live."


#1: Virginia Beach, Va.

#2: Albany, NY

#3: San Diego, Calif.

#4: Austin, Texas

#5: Madison, Wisconsin
The college town of Madison, Wisc., rounds out the top five cities best for buyers. It's consistently ranked as one of the best places to live in America. An added bonus: Home values in Madison are flat from five years ago, and they are paying 3 percent less than listing price. "If we're looking in an area where home values are flat year over year, that's great. It means you haven't lost money in the value of your home over the past year and that's performing better than most areas of the country," Bohuntinsky said.

(Article and image from http://www.abcnews.com/)