Well - At Least You Don't Live in California - Home Prices Edge Up 1%

We've all seen the bad news in states like California, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida - double digit declines in home values.  In Wisconsin, we're not seeing declines but we're not seeing normal growth either.  

In a study released today by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue - residential property values grew by 1% between January 1, 2007 and January 1, 2008.  Things aren't exactly great, but it could always be worse.

The full report is available at:   www.revenue.wi.gov/news/080815.html

Housing Prices Stable in the Milwaukee Market

In today's edition of the Business Journal of Milwaukee - some positive news about the stability of the housing marketing in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee was the only one of 25 major cities where home prices rose from year-ago levels, according to a monthly report from real estate data firm Radar Logic.

Radar Logic measures housing prices on a per-square foot basis, and says prices in the Milwaukee area rose 2.8 percent in March from a year ago, to $115.24 per square foot.

Radar Logic tracks 25 metropolitan areas. Prices rose only in Milwaukee and were unchanged in Charlotte, N.C.

The report says year-over-year housing prices in New York City declined for the first time since it began tracking the market in 2000, falling 4.7 percent.

The biggest drop was Sacramento, where per-square-foot housing prices are down 30.6 percent from a year ago, the Radar Logic report says.

Google Street View Added to MLS Searching Capabilities from Homegate Direct

Another first from Homegate Direct Realty.  We have added a great new feature in our MLS search capabilities that you can't find anywhere - not even on Realtor.com.  

When you go to:  http://www.HomegateDirect.com/MLS.php - from here you can search on Milwaukee area MLS Listings with our very unique interactive mapping technology.  Now, we have added Google Street View right within the MLS Listings.  Wondering what the neighborhood looks like, you have instant access to Google Street View right from here.  This is a great new feature and something you just can't find with anywhere else when looking at homes for sale.

Virtual Tours on Realtor.com - now standard with all listings

As we continue to roll out more and more features with our $550 MLS listing package - we are now providing our virtual tours right on the showcase listings of realtor.com.  Why you will like this is because when an individual searches in realtor.com - the listings with virtual tours show up right at the top and are the first ones in the search results!  This will mean even greater exposure for your property.  This is a great benefit as most of the other fee for service companies in the Milwaukee area don't even provide virtual tours with their listings.

FrontDoor.com - from HGTV

Looking for some free advice on what to do and what not to do when selling your home?  HGTV has recently launched a new site at www.FrontDoor.com.  Lots of great advice for the home seller.  Also, check out HGTV listings as they have many programs with advice for sellers as well.

Showcase Premium Listings on Realtor.com now Standard with Homegate Direct

We're happy to add a new feature to our standard $550 MLS Listing Package.  Effective immediately, all MLS Listings from Homegate Direct will also feature a Showcase Premium Listing on realtor.com.  Realtor.com is the #1 site for consumers in the Milwaukee Metro area to search for homes for sale.  I had a conference call today with realtor.com and I found out that on a typical month people look at listings in the Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington, and Ozaukee county area over 6 million times.  That's a lot of exposure!

Properties Values Rising Nicely in SE Wisconsin

Many times we get consumed with all of the doom and gloom we read about in the housing market by the national media. It's easy to get sucked into this thinking. With the overheated markets in California, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Florida - house prices are falling rapidly because they rose too fast and there too many people buying on speculation and never occupying these homes. We have to remember, Wisconsin and Milwaukee has always had a tradition of being very stable in the housing market. We now have some facts to back that up - so we can all just take a deep breath.

Here's a good reality check for all of us homeowners in the Milwaukee metro area - property values grew at a good, normal pace in 2007. Now, this isn't like the fast appreciation we saw in 2005 and 2006 where in most counties pricing appreciation was above 10% per year - but it's great news nonetheless.

In a report just released by the Public Policy Forum - here's what they found for 2007:

Walworth County, 10.5%
Ozaukee County, 6.6%
Washington County, 5.7%
Racine County, 5.6%
Milwaukee County, 5.5%
Waukesha County, 5.1%

Whether you're buying or selling a home - this is good news for all.