How Do You Perform a Home Inspection at Twenty Degrees Below Zero?   Every day brings a new experience in this business.  This morning, we were scheduled to have a home inspection performed at one of our Madeline Island home listings.  That inspection had to be postponed, due to the "Polar Vortex". The forecast last night for LaPointe, Wisconsin was for temperatures of eighteen to twenty below zero.  And nighttime lows are predicted to remain in the subzero category for the next four or five days. At temperatures like those, it's just plain unsafe to "un-winterize" a home in order to test the plumbing system, even for a brief period of time.  The risk of ice causing ruptured copper pipes (from the water well all the way through the home), cracked toilet bowls and damaged faucets is si... 02/28/2014

  Madeline Island Real Estate Market Report for February, 2014   Here are the highlights of our February, 2014 real estate market report for Madeline Island Realty:   As of February 15th, 2014: Our January closed real estate sales (made by our Wisconsin office) totaled $697,681. This was a cash sale. We have three pending sales of Madeline Island properties, totaling nearly $600,000 (two of these are scheduled to close in March and one in April). One of these was a property which received multiple offers. Of the one closed and three pending transactions which have been achieved by Madeline Island Realty since January 1, 2014, three were cash sales. The fourth was a land contract (contract for deed) sale. Despite the recent predominance of cash sales, several buyers have found that there... 02/15/2014

  Reasons Why Many Vacation Home Owners are Holding Back From Listing   Everyone in the real estate industry is talking about low inventories of homes for sale. Now that market conditions have emerged from the doldrums, it's like we're all dressed up with no place to go.  Agents are scrapping over new listings and they're wondering aloud why sellers are relatively scarce. In the second home/vacation home market, the problem may be even worse than it is with primary homes.  Just as a second home is a discretionary purchase, owners of a secondary home need a reason to sell.  Many second home owners, unless they are forced to sell for reasons such as a death in the family, divorce or financial hardship, are waiting for higher prices.  They have a number in their head that in no way resembl... 02/15/2014

  The Return of Multiple Offers   Multiple offers have returned to real estate, not just in large metropolitan areas and suburban communities, but all over the country. In a multiple offer situation, the listing agent receives more than one offer within a narrow time frame.  Once the multiple offers are presented to the seller, a seller must examine the offers carefully and make a decision based upon the price and terms of the respective offers. The listing agent is responsible for presenting the offers objectively, leaving to the seller the ultimate decision about which offer will be accepted. This multiple offer scenario can get trickier than most sellers and buyers realize.  Sellers view multiple offers as an opportunity, creating competition and potentially resulting in a higher sol... 02/10/2014

  Real Search Results for Madeline Island Real Estate and Related Terms   Inspired by a post on ActiveRain by Gail Robinson, I found myself digging through search engines for the truth about who's on first when it comes to search engine results and rankings in our market area.   In other words, if I used an "incognito" search (such as is available using Google Chrome), where would Madeline Island Realty stack up against the competition in our corner of northwestern Wisconsin. The results confirmed what we've suspected for some time now.  Madeline Island Realty showed up in the number one spot (on page one of an incognito Chrome search) using the search string "Madeline Island Real Estate".  Not only did we show up in the number one position, but we also appeared in the sixth and tenth s... 02/09/2014

  Realtor Magazine Says 2013 Was the Best Year in Real Estate Since 2006   The article below in the January/February issue of Realtor Magazine proclaims 2013 the strongest real estate year since 2006: http://realtormag.realtor.org/news-and-commentary/market-pulse/article/2014/01/economy-heats-up I've said this many times before, but 2013 sales on Madeline Island mirrored the national real estate market in many ways.  And in our little Lake Superior community as well, 2013 was undoubtedly our best year in real estate since 2006. 2013 sales, particularly in the second half of the year, were steady and brisk. Our office volume for the last five months of the year, including January of 2014, averaged nearly $600,000 in dwelling sales per month. Existing waterfront homes were the most popula... 02/02/2014

  Over Three Million in Madeline Island Sales in the Past Six Months   At the end of January, our Madeline Island Realty office tallied our closed real estate sales on the Island between mid-September of 2013 and the end of January, 2014.  We're pleased to report that our Madeline Island sales over the past five months have averaged over $590,000 per month. Three of our closed sales were waterfront homes on Lake Superior, priced between $700,000 and $800,000.  Three of our sold homes were active on the market for one hundred days or less. Our average dwelling sale during that period was just over 96 per cent of the list price. This screenshot from our closed sales website says it all: [Madeline Island Realty 2014 SOLD HOMES Data Courtesy of TourFactory Virtual Tours]   Add our pending s... 02/02/2014

  Madeline Island & Ashland County Mirrors 2013 Statewide Sales Rebound   2013 statistics for home sales in Ashland County showed robust gains similar to those reported statewide, according to the Wisconsin Realtors Association (WRA). The median home price in Ashland County, WI (as compiled and reported by WRA monthly) rose to new, higher levels in mid-2013 and remained there for most of the balance of the year.  With a countywide population of just under 16,000 people, you'd expect that there wouldn't be all that many reported home sales per month in Ashland County, Wisconsin.  Over most of 2013, monthly reported sales for all of Ashland County fluctuated between a total of six and eighteen sales per month. That's a pretty small number, although many of our Madeline Island home sales h... 02/01/2014

  Nothing Like a Nice Long Hike in the Woods in Below Zero Temperatures   Last Friday turned out to be an adventure. My day began at 5:15 am, with a car trip from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Ashland, Wisconsin, about 240 miles one way.  I had a closing to attend there and I needed to be on time. Luckily, the driving was easy, with no snow or icy roads along the way. I rolled into Ashland on time and our closing was completed in under an hour.  My next task was a trip across the ice road between Bayfield, Wisconsin and Madeline Island. I had to meet a prospective buyer in order to show him homes for sale. The ice road this year is one of the best I've driven. Ordinarily I'm not all that thrilled about having to drive across a stretch of frozen Lake Superior to attend a showing.  But the su... 02/01/2014

  Weekly Property Showings on Madeline Island - In January?   This weekend will mark three weekends in a row where we've received requests for showing appointments on Madeline Island.  That's right..three weekends in January. If you're looking for signs that the real estate market on Madeline Island has improved, I'd say the recent volume of showing requests is one of the best indicators we've seen. What prompts a prospective buyer to drive four or five hours one-way (plus a ten-minute drive across the ice road between Bayfield, Wisconsin and Madeline Island) in midwinter? One reason would be that buyers have noticed property for sale inventories steadily dropping in our area.  Another would be that prices haven't begun to rebound from recent lows.  And we believe that won't last long. ... 01/30/2014

  Sellers, When an Offer Finally Arrives, Be Ready and Be Available   I have sellers who call me within hours of a showing, asking if we have an offer coming in.  They know how to reach me by phone, email and text message.  I make certain that I'm reachable.  That's essential to the process and agents accept that need to be reachable. The flip side of this situation is when we finally do receive an offer, after months of showings (sometimes over a year or more) and we can't reach the seller.  Imagine how frustrating that can be.  An offer arrives at our office with the a four or five day deadline for response, and we can't get a response to the offer. This is probably more of a problem in the second homes market than in primary markets.  The situation gets worse in winter, as many of ou... 01/29/2014

  Would You Prefer A Sunset View or a Sunrise View over Lake Superior?   We ask our Madeline Island waterfront home buyers this question over and over again.  Do you prefer sunrise or sunset?  Both have their advantages. Buyer preferences seem to vary from year to year, but in 2013 the southeast side of Madeline Island was clearly more popular with buyers.  The sale of 723 South Shore Road in December, along with the sale of 917 South Shore Road a month earlier, would be an example.   Here's why some of our past and recent clients tell us they prefer a southeast-facing home, such as you would find along South Shore Road or the southeast facing portion of Big Bay Road: The southeast side of the Island seems to be more sheltered from prevailing winds and storms than the northwest side. Th... 01/22/2014

  More About Choosing a Preferred Location For Your Madeline Island Home   Over the past three-plus decades, I have owned a wide variety of properties on Madeline Island, ranging from vacant land and waterfront, to a condominium unit and our Madeline Island Realty office in downtown LaPointe, to other commercial properties and a log home on Islewood Road.  One of the most important advantages that experience has provided to me is some actual knowledge about various Madeline Island neighborhoods and property types, and what it's really like to own here. At the end of the seventies and into the early 1980s, vacant land and lakeshore was plentiful on Madeline Island and prices were very affordable.  The first vacant lakeshore lot I purchased on the Island (in 1981) cost under $30,000, with... 01/22/2014

  The Importance of the Final Walk-Through When Selling Your Second Home   The buyer's final walk through of your home prior to closing may be more important than you think.  Yet preparation for that final walk-through is often neglected by sellers. How should a seller prepare for the final walk-through of their home? The Wisconsin Residential Offer to Purchase states that the home should be in "broom swept condition and free of all debris" at the time buyer takes occupancy.  In my opinion, "broom swept" should be the seller's minimum goal for the look of their home at the time of the walk-through. Agents and brokers may disagree a bit about what consitutes proper preparation for the walk-through, but when in doubt, it's always best to opt for leaving the home as clean and tidy as is re... 01/21/2014

  Madeline Island Residents Cheer "The Best Ice Road in Maybe a Decade"   Yesterday, I drove the "ice road" between Bayfield, Wisconsin and Madeline Island for the first time in just over a year.  And it was one of the smoothest, most pleasant ice road passages I've ever experienced. We overheard a local resident in the Mission Hill Coffee House who proclaimed this year's ice road, "the best in maybe a decade".  I'd have to agree with him. The ice is thick and smooth this year, without noticeable ruts or bumps.  We were told last week that there was a pressure crack close to the Bayfield approach, but there was no sign of it yesterday. A cautionary sign on the Bayfield approach reads "travel at your own risk".  But once you drive onto the ice road in your car or light truck and begin yo... 01/21/2014

  Logistics of Setting up a January Property Showing on Madeline Island   I'm writing this post on my bed at a motel in Ashland, Wisconsin.  Tomorrrow, I've got two property showings on Madeline Island.  One of the showings is a waterfront home on Lake Superior, and the other is an interior log home on the Island. The drive to Ashland from Minneapolis was pretty uneventful, at least until we got to the Duluth - Superior area.  Once we crossed the Blatnik bridge into Wisconsin, we ran into snow and fairly high winds, with low visibility that made driving slippery and treacherous. These showings have been in the planning process for over a week.  The first step is to arrange to have both driveways plowed. We had the homeowners arrange with Nelson Construction on Madeline Island (715-747-3... 01/19/2014

  "Take Me Out, Coach" - Understanding and Meeting Seller Expectations   I believe it's important for sellers to understand what they are asking us to do when they list their property for sale with a real estate broker or agent.  After all, managing expectations starts with understanding what reasonable expectations are. When sellers go onto the market, they're looking to be taken out of the deal.  They want a buyer to cash them out.  And they at least want a soft landing.  No big surprises would be nice, and not being forced to bring money to the closing.  Part of the being cashed out thing is about validation.  Finding a buyer who is willing and eager to buy their home validates their original decision to buy in the first place.  Let's take this analysis one step further.  Sellers als... 01/18/2014

  "But if I Sell My Home Now, I'll Lose Money"   In response to this frequently heard comment from would-be sellers, let me ask a question. When you bought your second home, did you purchase it as an investment or as a place to enjoy? A second home or vacation home may turn out to be a good investment in the long run.  If you buy carefully and choose wisely, keeping your home properly maintained and updated over the years, chances are good that you'll be able to build equity and you may do quite well over the years.  There are no guarantees, but overall it's safe to say that you have a decent chance of achieving success. Of course, there are reasons why some folks didn't achieve favorable financial results from buying a vacation home.  In the decades that lead up to the significant corr... 01/18/2014

  "I'm Waiting for Prices to Return to Where They Were When I Bought"   We hear this pretty often from homeowners who think of themselves as real estate investors.  Typically, they admit they purchased when the market on Madeline Island was at its peak, somewhere between maybe 2003 and 2007.  They got caught up in the buying and building frenzy of the early to mid-2000s and they paid too much.  And now, they want to know when they can expect to step back into the market and recover their loss. Ask your investment adviser what he or she thinks about the idea of hanging onto an investment that you overpaid for, hoping that the rising market will magically erase your losses.  Sure, it could possibly happen.  In the meantime, where could you be putting that money to better (and more profita... 01/18/2014

  Was the 2013 Real Estate Market a Fluke? We Don't Believe It   A prospective seller contacted me last week, and he sounded pretty conflicted about putting his house on the market. This guy was concerned that the Madeline Island real estate market rebound in 2013 was a "flash in the pan" and he believes it won't continue this year.  He thinks that the robust sales we have experienced recently, particularly in the last six months of 2013, were an anomaly.  From my point of view, one sale could very well be a coincidence or a stroke of good luck. Even two sales could possibly be considered inconclusive when it comes to searching for and verifying an established market trend. Eight closed and pending dwelling sales in five months, totaling well over three million dollars, is no fluke.  Av... 01/16/2014