Property of the Week

This week's featured property is a large brick home in Monroe.

Room, room, room! Your family will have all the space you need in this 2900 square foot brick home in Monroe. Four bedrooms on the second floor will end the fights over the kids sharing rooms. On the main floor, you will find a formal living room and dining room, both with stunning original woodwork. The bonus room could be a sitting room, office, playroom or a fifth bedroom. The large kitchen has room for an active cook and a table for casual family meals.

Old meets new in the finished basement. Walk downstairs and you will find a large space waiting for an office or playroom and an enormous media room with attached kitchenette. You will be the one hosting the Super Bowl parties or stock it with snacks for the teens and have the peace of mind of knowing where your teen is on Friday nights because his friends will want to hang out in this great space. There is also a large separate laundry room in the basement, and here is where you will find the newer furnace.

Spend summer evenings on your screen front porch talking with friends or hang a hammock on the upstairs back sleeping porch for rainy day naps.

The location cannot be beat. Only a block to East School Park means the kids will have plenty of space to run. Walk to events at the Fairgrounds and let the kids bike downtown or to the Middle School. This house is a gem waiting for a new family to call it home.

Traveling Green

The Wisconsin Department of Tourism recently began a new certification program. Called Travel Green Wisconsin, it recognizes businesses in the tourism industry that are paying attention to their impact on the environment and making an effort to reduce their footprints on the earth.

Here in Cheese Country, we have business owners who have already take the steps necessary to be certified by Travel Green. If you are looking for an off the beaten path way to travel, consider some of these businesses or activities:

~ Earth Rider Boutique Hotel. With a unique bicycling theme and an coordinating bike shop business, consider Earth Rider for a wayside on your next cycling trip through Green County.

~ Inn Serendipity Bed and Breakfast. A nationally recognized Eco-Destination right here in Green County! Local authors Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko offers a unique experience, complete with a hearty vegetarian breakfast that travels only one hundred feet from garden to table.

~ The Badger State Trail, Sugar River Trail, New Glarus Woods State Park and Browntown-Cadiz Springs Recreational Area are all travel green certified. Camp, hike, bike or just spend an afternoon picnicking in these public areas.

~ Scotch Hill Farm near Brodhead is a CSA/market garden grower that also offer handmade soaps. Call ahead to arrange pick-up of a box of fresh vegetables to take home or join the CSA if you are nearby. Be sure to check out their soaps!

Property of the Week

This week's featured property is a ranch home in Monroe.

They say quality shows, and they are correct! This 22 year old ranch home was built right, and you will appreciate the attention to detail in the entire home. All the details are here, from the jetted tub to the built in bookself, the walk-in closet to the shaded back patio.

The layout is perfect for the couple that enjoys entertaining. The open concept main floor living area means the cook will never be separated from the party. Family and friends are sure to gather in the enormous lower level family room. There is a built in bar on one end, complete with stools, and a huge stone fireplace. Built in seating faces the fireplace wall, which includes a place for your flat screen TV, complete with cable hook-up. In between the bar and fireplace, there is room for tables, banquets, conversational seating areas, a pool table and more. If the weather permits, have the party outside. Adults can talk and grill out on the shaded back patio while the kids or grandkids run in the yard.

You will never want for storage in this home! The spacious living room includes a full book shelf with storage cabinets spanning an entire wall. Both bedrooms have oversized closets, and the one on the mater bedroom must be seen to be believed. In the basement family room, the bar area has cupboards galore. The two car garage is extra large, allowing for storage on both sides and in the rear. The utility room has storage tucked in to all of the nooks as well.

This great home has been well maintained, and the mechanicals are newer. If you are looking for somewhere that is ready to simply move into and start living, look no further - even the carpets are freshly cleaned and a home warranty is included for your peace of mind.

The sellers are asking only $220,o00 for this impressive home. Last time it was on the market, it sold in ten days, so call Brenda or Luis for your private showing before this one is gone again.

End the Hibernation!

As always, there is plenty to do in Cheese Country!

If you are Irish or simply enjoy a good parade, come up to the Square in Monroe on March 17. The Gathering of the Clans parade is downtown at 4:45 on Monday, and will be preceded by stories and crafts at the Monroe Public Library. The downtown parades have been growing well over the years, and the St Patrick's Day parade is no exception. Come see your neighbors and friends, and don't forget to wear green!

Later in the week, come to the Monroe Arts Center from 7 until 8:30 for a talk with local authors and entrepreneurs Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko. They will be talking about their new book Renewing the Countryside: Wisconsin as part of the UW Extension's Local Fare program. It is sure to be an interesting evening.

Also in the upcoming week, author John Kaminski will kick off this year's Distinguished Author's Series at the Monroe Arts Center on Thursday, March 20. The Brodhead Jaycees are having their Spring Arts and Crafts Show on Saturday, March 15. The Browntown Fire Department's Annual St Patrick's Day Dance is on Saturday, March 15 as well.

Get out of the house and enjoy the breath of spring that is on the air these days!

Just the Facts

I apologize for the long break in posts over the holidays.

2007 has drawn to a close, and we can now see just how the real estate market performed. The media has been making it seem like the market is dead or at least terminally ill. Far be that from the truth.

Yes, sales are down for the peak years of 2004-2006. That is true. There is no denying it. However, historical data shows that those were unusual years. Take a look at the following numbers:

(for the purposes of this post, I examined residential property, residential income, farm, vacant land and commercial property sales listed in the MLS for Green County)

2007 - 491 properties sold
2006 - 581 properties sold

There is no question that there was a drop here. What happens when I go back a few years farther though?

2002 - 545 properties sold (this was considered a record year at the time)
2001 - 496 properties sold
2000 - 444 properties sold
1999 - 424 properties sold

Back in just a few years, there was no media speculation about a stagnant market, yet the numbers clearly show that the sales are actually higher now than they were back then. What happened was the sales boom has colored people's perceptions of normal.

We hope that this information can help people in the area realize that the Monroe and Green County markets are healthy and viable.