Madison, WI

The Dane County Distressed Property Index rose slightly in October to .24, indicating approximately 24% of the home and condos sales in October were related to foreclosure. The chart below shows the index has quadrupled since January of 2006.

On a related note, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced today in its National Delinquency Survey that 14.41% of all loans were either in foreclosure or at least one payment past due at the end of the third quarter 2009. That's a new record.

With a rising number of distressed properties and lower prices, we're seeing a lot of interest from buyers who might not otherwise be in the market. This includes home shoppers, and investors, too. In the last several months we've met multiple buyers who have been saving their cash for the right moment to jump in. And many of them are jumping in right now.

In the coming weeks we'll share some stories of different buyers and how they are leveraging the market.

Have a good Friday,

Dan Miller, Realtor, Certified Distressed Property Expert, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

We're excited to announce the UW Credit Union has joined our DaneCountyMarket.com web site. This means our web site users can now search for properties, research the market, check the latest mortgage rates, and apply for a loan all from one convenient online location.

Speaking of mortgage rates, loans for 30 year fixed rate mortgages were available for 4.75% yesterday. You can check out today's rates by going to our home page.

Like us, UWCU is a provider of good consumer information, and soon UWCU will be offering educational articles that will be available from our site.

Have a great day,

Dan Miller, Realtor, Certified Distressed Property Expert, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

The 3rd quarter of 2009 saw the first increase in Wisconsin home sales since the recession began in the 4th quarter of 2007. Compared to the 3rd quarter of 2008, existing homes sales increased 5.8%. This surge in sales is largely credited to low mortgage rates and the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit.

Wisconsin's home sales increase compared favorably to the country as a whole, which saw a 5.9% increase. The Midwest region was at 5.2% increase.

Although sales increased, the median home price in Wisconsin fell 6.3% in the 3rd quarter of 2009 compared to same period of 2008. The national reduction in median price was at 11.2%, so Wisconsin managed much better than the national average. It is likely that a part of the reason for this decrease was a depreciation in house values, but another reason may be the abundance of lower priced homes being sold due to the first-time home buyer credit. With this in mind, Flor stated "Wisconsin home prices are not nearly as volatile as we have seen in other parts of the country and so purchasing a home in Wisconsin remains a very stable way to build household wealth."

John Flor, Charman of the Board of the Wisconsin Realtors Association, sees a bright future for the economy as we head into 2010: "The extension and expansion of the federal tax credit is not only good news for home buyers and sellers, but also for the economy as a whole. Families buy a wide range of goods and services after they purchase a home, which helps the entire local economy, and sales of starter homes create opportunities for sellers to trade-up to a new or more expensive home."

Here is the full WRA article

Our preliminary statistics from the South Central Wisconsin MLS are in for the month of October.

Dane County home sales increased for the fourth straight month on a year-over-year basis. Home sales jumped from 269 in October of 2008 to 332 last month, an increase of 23%.

Dane County condo sales grew for the second straight month. Condo sales rose from 80 in October of 2008 to 114 in October of 2009, an increase of 43%.

Prices for both homes and condos were lower, as much of the market was focused on taking advantage of the first-time home buyer tax credit. Because of this, we're expecting higher sales and lower prices once again in November.

For more details, your can check our our full report at DaneCountyMarket.com .

Dan Miller, Realtor, Certified Distressed Property Expert, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com

Five of the Northern Bay Condos on Castle Rock Lake will be put up for auction by Micoley & Company on Saturday, December 12th, at 11:00 AM. Registration for the event starts at 10:00 AM. The minimum acceptable bid will be $95,000 or $125,000, depending on the unit. For more information on the auction, you can check out this link from Micoley & Company.

Lately we've seen a number of condo developments getting serious about moving their inventory, either through public auctions or dramatic price reductions. Condo inventory remains very high. Don't be surprised if we see additional fire sales in the coming months.

Have a good weekend,

Dan Miller, Realtor, Certified Distressed Property Expert, Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com