How Do You Know Your Online Marketing Is Really Working?   It's a fair question.  Sometimes my listing clients ask me this question and I've even had a few agents ask the same thing. There are all sorts of benchmarks that a Realtor might use to determine whether their online marketing is actually reaching the public.  For example, we've received close to 10,000 views of our YouTube property videos (9,423 to be exact) as of today's date.  Our TourFactory online virtual tours have drawn 90,336 views (9,115 in the past thirty days), which gives me a pretty good idea that those virtual tours are being seen. When you're done looking at metrics using Google Analytics, or you've sifted through all the "page views" and "unique viewer" statistics on various syndication sites, you're still stuck ... 02/15/2013

Follow Madeline Island Realty on Pinterest - Pin and Share our Photos We're on Pinterest! You'll find photos of our current and past Madeline Island home listings for sale there.  If you haven't visited Pinterest, you might want to take a look. http://pinterest.com/madelineisland/lake-superior-homes/ Pinterest has become the third most popular social bookmarking site on the Web in a very short time.  You visit and upload photos, or share the photos posted by others.  Pinterest also happens to be a great place to shop for homes, providing would-be buyers with another resource to get a closer look at what they want to buy. Pinterest helps us to reach more prospective buyers and to demonstrate to sellers how we do what we do.  Check it out and feel free to share the photos with friends!   ... 01/28/2013

Chances are Good That the Buyer of Your Home Will be Under Age 50 The real estate industry is buzzing about a new real estate industry study which reminds us that close to 60% of today's potential home buyers were born after 1965. Of course, Americans love studies like this one, and statistics have their imperfections.  We all have a tendency to assign consumers to demographic groups, using labels like "Millenials" or "Generation X'ers".  But it is a reality that 43% of those born between 1977 and 1994 are already homeowners and the vast majority of those Millenials desire to own their home. Buyers under the age of 50 have clearly assumed a majority role among those who are the most likely prospects for buying homes (that includes vacation homes and "second homes"). Here's what this mea... 01/28/2013

The Unintended Consequences of Overpricing Your Home It's not uncommon for real estate agents and brokers to warn homeowners about the risks of overpricing.  But there are at least a few unintended consequences that you may not have considered.   Overpricing destroys any sense of urgency that might convince a prospective buyer to make an offer on your home today.  When a buyer sees an overpriced property, they know it will be around for awhile, so where's the incentive for that buyer to write an offer?   Overpricing scares away a segment of possible buyers, thus limiting the number of potential prospects.   Overpricing costs the seller money in property taxes, continued maintenance, upkeep and depreciation. What about the value of your time spent trying to sell an overpriced home?  How ... 01/12/2013

  What's in Store for the Madeline Island Real Estate Market in 2013   Market predictions can be fun (and sometimes they even turn out to be accurate).  I don't always put much stock in people's broad economic predictions, but real estate is, as we say, local.  So this post is intended to be an educated guess about where our own local market is headed during the coming year. We're noticing some sellers are bringing their homes to the market early this year.  Expect to see more new listings, particularly in the upper brackets, as the improving economy and low interest rates encourage home sellers to test the market. The market for vacant land will likely remain sluggish.  The key to success with vacant land this year (and probably for the next few years) will be seller financing.  There'... 01/07/2013

  Here's Why Madeline Island Sellers Are Choosing Madeline Island Realty   More Madeline Island sellers are choosing to list their fine homes and real estate with Madeline Island Realty.  Here are a few reasons why. Some folks have commented about how much they like the way we display properties on our website:   It might have something to do with how luxurious and elegant our listings look when viewed on an iPad:    Or it might be the fact that our virtual home tours look just as good when viewed on a handheld device, like the Samsung Galaxy Note or the iPhone:   Maybe it has something to do with the number of visitors who see our properties on the Web each day:   And more than a few Madeline Island property owners have told us that they're impressed by our client testimonials: "Your r... 01/07/2013

  Primary Home Stats Won't Help Much When You're Selling a Second Home   Looking at recent sales statistics can be one of the ways a real estate professional can provide useful advice to sellers.  But it's important to realize that comparing sales statistics in primary home communities to those in vacation and recreational markets won't be very useful, for a number of reasons. First, the demand for primary homes is far stronger.  Urban and suburban dwellers in population centers need a roof over their heads.  A second home is, after all, a discretionary purchase.  Another big factor is mortgage interest rates and loan availability, which varies widely between primary home markets and second home markets.  In our northwest Wisconsin market, particularly in second home and recreational ar... 12/30/2012

  What Happened to the "Weekend Tourist" Buyer?   I've been selling real estate on Madeline Island since 2000 and I was involved in buying and developing real estate there since the early 1980s.  So I remember what local agents refer to as "the good old days" in the Madeline Island/Bayfield/Apostle Islands real estate marketplace. One of the things I recall most vividly is something that my mentor in the real estate business, R. E. Waide used to say about tourist buyers.  He'd point to the Madeline Island Ferry approaching the dock in LaPointe, Wisconsin and he'd say "here comes another boatload of buyers".  The presumption was that folks would drive off the boat (or walk off) and tour the Island, whereupon they'd immediately fall in love with the place.  And then they would hopefully w... 12/30/2012

  How to Know if a Local Agent Truly Knows Your Area Real Estate Market   Let's start by admitting that all agents claim to know their local market better than the next agent. I read real estate agent (and company) ads every day that proclaim, "Call the hometown team.  We know the market in your area better than anyone else does".  Name an agent or firm that doesn't make that claim.  In fact, this is probably the most overstated claim in real estate advertising.  A brokerage or agent can't claim to have superior market knowledge simply because they've been in business in your town for umpteen years.  What demonstrates market knowledge is success, not years of experience.  In the real estate business, you're only as good as your last sale.  And if an agent isn't selling, it calls into qu... 12/23/2012

  More Recent Testimonials Praising Madeline Island Realty   2012 has been a pretty good year for client testimonials in our Wisconsin office.  It's my pleasure to share a few of these with readers of my blog.   "Your real estate marketing and photography work is gorgeous!" B.F.  March 2012   "We appreciate the work you have done for us.  Paul said he can't believe you sold our Madeline Island home during the dead of winter!"  C.W.  May 2012   "We truly are happy that we found this home and that you are the agent who brought it to our attention!" T.L.   July 2012   "Eric Kodner is a very solid professional, knowledgeable about our local area 54850 (Madeline Island), upper Midwest and upscale markets.  His blogs and opinions are well thought out and reliable."           K.D.H.  September... 12/23/2012

  We May be a Small Company, but We Had a Pretty Big Year in 2012   The end of any year is a particularly good time to count your blessings.  And December of 2012 will be no exception. As I look back on the past year, our company enjoyed success that exceeded expectations.  One of our listings sold at a record high price for a broker-assisted sale on Madeline Island.  Another of our Madeline Island real estate listings received an accepted offer in midwinter (at 98 per cent of the listed price), at a time of year when second homes rarely sell.  And we made a very nice Bayfield, Wisconsin townhome sale in the $300,000s, which closed in April. Not one of our 2012 Wisconsin real estate sales was a foreclosure, short sale or bank-owned property. Our Minneapolis & Saint Paul office also had ... 12/23/2012

  Questions to ask BEFORE you list your Madeline Island home for Sale   A word of advice..here's a short list of questions you should ask any agent before you list your home with them:   -How many real estate transactions have you closed within the last six to nine months? Or during the past year? How often has that agent attended a real estate closing during the past year?  Are they up-to-date and knowledgeable about the latest changes in real estate and financing? -What has been your monthly average dollar amount (closed sales) during that time? It's a good idea to ask if real estate is that agent's career or merely a part-time job.  You'd be surprised how many real estate agents are not full-time practitioners. -What has been the average sold price for homes you listed during that pe... 12/22/2012

  Never is a Very Long Time   A few years ago, I listed a property for sale on Madeline Island at just under $800,000 and the day after the listing showed up on MLS, a competing broker on Madeline Island stopped by my office to inform me that I'd never sell it.  "Never" was exactly the word he used to describe my chances of getting that home sold and he chuckled rather loudly about the list price as he walked out the door of my office.  He had tried to sell that home for a year prior to our listing with the seller. That same property was sold by Madeline Island Realty after being on the market four months, and the transaction closed at 95% of the list price.  I understand competition and the competitive spirit that makes some agents puff out their chest and predict failure on the part o... 12/09/2012

  2013 New Challenges & Opportunities in Madeline Island Real Estate   As we approach the end of 2012 and a new year, it's an excellent time to look back and see what has changed in the Madeline Island real estate market. Some of these changes are more recent than others, but they all impact buyers and sellers as we approach 2013. First of all, the real estate brokerage scene on Madeline Island has changed considerably.  There are now two remaining active real estate brokerages on Madeline Island, down from four just a couple years ago.  Along with fewer brokerage firms, there are fewer Madeline Island real estate agents and even fewer who remain regularly active in the real estate industry. One competing Island brokerage was absorbed in 2011 by our company, Madeline Island Realty, and ... 12/09/2012

    REALTOR ERIC KODNER APPOINTED VICE CHAIR OF 2013 CRS DIVERSITY COMMITTEE BY CRS PRESIDENT-ELECT RON CANNING     Minneapolis – Saint Paul, MN (September 27, 2012) – Realtor® Eric Kodner has been appointed Vice Chair of the National CRS Diversity Committee by 2013 Council of Residential Specialists President-Elect Ron Canning.   Kodner is currently beginning his second year as Chair of the Wisconsin Realtors Association (WRA) Cultural Diversity in Housing Committee.  He also serves on the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Diversity Committee.  Kodner was appointed to the NAR Diversity Committee by former NAR President Dick Gaylord in January of 2010.   Kodner was recently invited by NAR Diversity Director Fred Underwood to participate in a select discussion group composed of nine... 09/27/2012

  Our Madeline Island Real Estate Blog is Read by Nearly as Many Minnesotans as by Wisconsinites   I probably should have guessed this all along, but today I did a little research into the visitor statistics for my Madeline Island Real Estate Blog to see where those visitors are coming from.  And I found that the number of blog visitors from Wisconsin and Minnesota is nearly equal.  Below are the stats from my ClustrMaps widget on my Wisconsin blog:   You'll notice that the number of visitors from Minnesota and from Wisconsin is close to identical, both states with around 1500 blog visitors.  Following on the list are visitors from California (811), Illinois (591), Florida (380), Texas (311), Michigan (278), New York (247), Iowa (246) and Arizona (219). Madeline Island gets a fair amoun... 04/01/2012

  Northwest Wisconsin Appraisers Rely on Madeline Island Realty Recent Sales to Determine Values   Recent property appraisals on Madeline Island have consistently made use of comparable sales statistics from sales by Madeline Island Realty over the past eighteen months.  One such appraisal used our 2011 co-listing and sale of 2984 North Shore Road, LaPointe, WI 54850 as a benchmark for determining value of an upper-bracket Madeline Island home (that sale was mentioned in a January 2011 Wall Street Journal article by S. Mitra Kalita). Our recent sales show up on appraisals for good reason.  Madeline Island Realty sells properties on Madeline Island and in Bayfield, Wisconsin.  Not only do we have more successful sales, but we have sold more upper bracket and high end properties than othe... 03/31/2012

  Logging Your Vacant Land Parcel Before Putting it on the Market Probably Isn't a Great Idea   I recently received a phone call from a Madeline Island property owner, inquiring about putting his vacant land parcel on the market.  Calls like this one are routine, but this seller had an idea he wanted to bounce off me. His idea was to wring as much money out of his wooded parcel by logging it first, then selling off the timber and putting the "groomed" lot on the market, at a price which would be high for a raw lot.  He figured by harvesting the timber on that parcel (which he perceives as very valuable), he'd make a nice profit. Every once in awhile, we get calls like these from well-intended sellers who, naturally, want to maximize the amount they will receive for their parcel.  Proble... 03/20/2012

  Madeline Island Came to Life This Past Weekend   The weekend of March 17 & 18, 2012 will be one for the history books on Madeline Island.  With record high temperatures in the 60s and low 70s, the weekend was a revival of spring that comes two months ahead of schedule. Most of the snow on Madeline Island is gone now, except for spots where plows and snowblowers have piled it.  The ferry crossing from Bayfield to the Island is remarkably tranquil, with few ice chunks striking the ferry hull as you cross.  Everywhere you look, there are signs of spring returning.  And spring appears to be returning two months ahead of schedule this year. Attendance was impressive at the "garage sale" (more like an estate sale) at 351 Old Fort Road on Saturday and Sunday. I counted nearly 40 vehicles in ... 03/20/2012

Rumor Has it That Other Madeline Island and Bayfield Real Estate Companies are Switching to Regional MLS of Minnesota So far, it's still a rumor. But in the past month, I've heard from two area brokers that they're looking for a way to promote their listings on NorthstarMLS/RMLS of Minnesota. At present, some Madeline Island firms (and most if not all Bayfield, Wisconsin firms) belong to SAAR (Superior Area Association of Realtors), which has its own IDX portal. But area brokers have apparently noticed the benefits of the wider reach and larger IDX potential offered by NorthstarMLS. Both have disclosed that they're working on getting their listings on Northstar too. Two years ago, an Iron River, WI broker assured me that SAAR was "in the process" of merging their IDX (Internet Data Exc... 03/13/2012