You can see individual units listed for sale through First Weber Group here, more on this condo project at this project page on firstweber.com, or at this Moderne website or at this article in  BizTimes.com

The development has a prime location at Juneau and Old World Third Street in downtown Milwaukee.  First Weber Group has been marketing The Moderne for several years. We're thrilled to see the approval come through. 

Take a look at the links above and let us know your thoughts on The Moderne condos.

Third quarter, 2009 sales in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Racine and Washington Counties were all up over second quarter, 2008 as shown below:

County	# homes sold 2nd Q 2008	# homes sold 3rd Q 2009
Milwaukee	1578	1730
Waukesha	827	985
Ozaukee	179	214
Racine	390	413
Washington	265	289

The Homebuyer tax credit was extended and expanded to include current homeowners.  This should have an additional boost on sales. When you're ready to search for a new home, please do so at firstweber.com

One of the most important inclusions in the new tax credit is that it also includes existing homeowners. Up to $6500 is available. As usual, "certain restrictions apply". See more at firstweber.com and nar.com  This credit is good on contracts written up to April 30, 2010. There is then additional time to close. See details in the link above.

The $8000 credit for first time home buyers is being extended until April 30, 2009.  Thank goodness, because the previous deadline to close was November 30, 2009.  The new credit is good on contracts written up until April 30, 2010.  Again, restrictions apply so read the facts at firstweber.com and other links you'll find there. 

In my opinion, this is fantastic news for Wisconsin home sellers and home buyers, and certainly Wisconsin Realtors as well.  If you have questions, please contact us, send a comment or ask a question. 

If you just can't wait to start searching for a home, here's a link to our search page!.  There are almost 80,000 searchable at firstweber.com - five Multiple Listing Services across the state. If you want Wisconsin real estate, firstweber.com is an excellent place to get it.  Contact us when you feel you are ready to proceed and we'll walk you through the whole process.

Madison is the #11 Healthiest Housing Market in the Builderonline.com Housing Market list.

Being the capitol city and home to the University of Wisconsin helps to keep unemployment low.  The article states that Madison is one of the most educated workforces in the nation and consistently ranks well as a great place to live and work.  That is great press for Madison!

In another web article today from  msnbc.com, Madison, Wisconsin came in at #9 for the Healthiest cities for Women. (all those walking students may play a factor - the UW is a huge campus to cover, sometimes one end to another from class to class. I remember that very well...)  The article states that 85% of women in Madison get regular exercise outside of work.  That IS an impressive number! There are lots of bike trails in Madison and Madison is home to the Bicycling Federation of Wisconsin which holds a bike-awareness week every year.

That's enough good news about Madison for the day! We're always happy to spread good news about our Wisconsin cities.  If you are relocating and are interested in information on other Wisconsin communities, please let us know and we'd be happy to help.

Thanks for reading. What other good stories about Madison, WI do you have?  This could get interesting - college town, you know!

We are thrilled to have these quality agents

on the First Weber team!

Welcome:

Carla Corriveau, Brookfield office 

Darlene Guernsey,  Metro West office

Kathy Mitchell,  Brookfield office

Joan Pray, Brookfield office

Michael Sadowski, Brookfield office

Laurie Schubert, Waukesha office

Judi Stier,  Brookfield office

Dan Weber, Brookfield office

Jennifer Talsky-Wielgosh, Brookfield office

Kathy Witt, Lake Country office

(Names are listed to match the order of the pictures)

We look forward to working with these outstanding agents and their clients and customers!

On Tuesday, Oct 20, the Wisconsin Rapids office held a taco lunch to benefit the United Way. Annette Schmidt was the coordinator of this event and did a great job, others from the office donated to the event and worked at the event! $454 was donated to the United Way from this event. Many hands make light work!

NICE WORK!

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

The national organizations make their case for the extension well, noting that approximatley 355,000 homes sales occurred because of the credit. The letter goes on in detail about the economic benefits of a strong housing market.  Regardless of if you are "for" or "against" and extension of the credit, this is a interesting read.

While the possibility of the credit extension is a national issue, it would certainly have effects here in the Wisconsin real estate market and beyond.  There's an interesting discussion going on about the subject at the northwestern.com  And a quote from an article on stevenspointjournal.com states "It has to be looked at as a starting point," said Steve Lane, co-owner of First Weber Group in Stevens Point and a board member of the Wisconsin REALTORS Association.  “That first-time buyer enables the house to get sold, and then for the seller to make a purchase, then another seller, and up the line.”

What do you think?

Last year, the office's goal was to provide Thanksgiving meals to 80 families.  Thanks to generous donations, they exceeded that goal and were able to provide meals for 125 families!  This year, the goal is 125 families.  The cost to provide each meal is approximatley $30.  If you are interested in participating or donating, please contact Terri Fredrich at 262-478-5610. 

Any participation is most welcome!

I certainly hope they are able to meet or exceed their goal again.  Update to come after Thanksgiving!

Here's a link to the West Bend office - maybe you know some of the agents - click into their profile and send them an email!

·  Madison West:

• List Price: $249,900/ $249,900
• Sale Price: $241,250/ $244,950
• List to Sale Ratio: 96.5%/ 98%
• DOM: 69 days/ 51 days

·  Madison East:

• List Price: $183,400/ $184,900
• Sale Price: $179,850/ $177,500
• List to Sale Ratio: 98.1%/ 96%
• DOM: 58 days/ 79 days

·  Sun Prairie:

• List Price: $211,150/ $205,000
• Sale Price: $206,450/ $197,500
• List to Sale Ratio: 97.7%/ 96.3%
• DOM: 68 days/ 85 days

·  Verona:

• List Price: $289,900/ $292,400
• Sale Price: $285,000/ $285,950
• List to Sale Ratio: 98.3%/ 98%
• DOM: 102 days/ 58 days

·  Waunakee:

• List Price: $367,400/ $349,900
• Sale Price: $351,450/ $335,000
• List to Sale Ratio: 95.6%/ 96%
• DOM: 102 days/ 57 days

·  Fitchburg:

• List Price: $278,900/ $294,900
• Sale Price: $265,000/ $287,500
• List to Sale Ratio: 95%/ 97%
• DOM: 93 days/ 74 days

·  Cottage Grove:

• List Price: $223,900/ $249,900
• Sale Price: $209,450/ $242,500
• List to Sale Ratio: 93.5%/ 97%
• DOM: 49 days/57 days

Data provided by Charlie Wills of First Weber's West Towne office

Where Did My Lake Go?

If you 've been to Northern Wisconsin recently you’ve probably noticed that many of our lakes have shrunk in size. This is  not the result of global warming, just the lack of rain and snow in the last 5 years.  This is all part of a natural cycle that can be charted back to the 1890’s.  The last time we experienced a serious drought in Northern Wisconsin was between 1987 and 1990.  

Droughts affect every lake differently. Lakes, such as Thompson and Crescent Lakes have inlets and their water levels do not fluctuate much .  Seepage lakes, like Lake Mildred get their water from the water table. If there is not enough rain the lake level will drop as the water table drops.  Flowages, such as Nokomis fluctuate even more than seepage lakes because the dams that control the water level are opened to supply more water to the river downstream.    

Lower water levels means more exposed lake bed.  The DNR recommends that property owners leave this exposed area alone.  Removing branches and vegetation will affect the fishery when the water level returns.  Before you purchase lake property do your research.  Contact an experienced realtor or the DNR for information on lake depth, water quality and fishery. 

Thanks to Sandy Ebben, First Weber Rhinelander for this informative article.

JSOnline did an article on the statistics and you may read it in its entirety here. 

Some commentary from the article is as follows:

"In the first-time buyer market there is price competition. Sellers are getting 98%, 100% of the asking price - multiple offers in some cases," said Mike Ruzicka, president of the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors. "But if you go up the ladder a little bit - over $300,000 - it's really slow."

Also, REALTORS are hoping that Congress will extend or open up the first time home buyer tax credit.  Doing so would continue to spur sales.

"It absolutely needs to be extended and opened up," said Tammy Maddente, executive vice president of First Weber Group.

The uncertainty of an extension may have some buyers still waiting. Bob Larson of First Weber's Waukesha office is quoted as saying:

"They are trying to wait it out to see what will happen, so it's causing a little bit of a pause," Larson said.

As of now, the tax credit does expire and homebuyers must close by December 1.  Better get on it if you are serious about buying.

Good luck from First Weber Group.  We are here to help!