So to pick back up where we left off, my wife and I recently moved to Wisconsin because of a position change with work.  We're currently renting a home, and house shopping the greater Madison area.  (I dont want to be in Madison) But we're looking at everything from Mazomanie, Sauk City, Waunakee, Lodi, Poynette etc etc.

For those who know the area and the market, Should we be jumping on something as soon as possible? Hold off? Something else?
Just looking for some general advice.  Keep seeing stuff talk about a housing market collapse, but when I'm looking at the lack of inventory here I'm not sure I'd believe this area would see such a thing.
Hate to drop a bunch of money on something now if it'll be on sale in a few months lol.
Thanks

I'm not in the area or into real estate, but I would suggest this/these:
Stay out of the big cities, out in the suburbs at the very least.
Better yet would be to get some land (a few acres at a minimum) out on the outskirts.
Definitely not in Madison. Preferably where you can't hear the freeway.

I am in a small town (population 8800 or so) and live on the outskirts. Love it.
2 minutes to the major highways in the area. (2 of them)  Nice quiet little town, although
sometimes I wish there was more variety in restaurants, but overall, not bad.
(I must like it because I have been here for about 23 years)

Anyway, welcome to Wisconsin. Settle in and enjoy some of the things we have.
Cheese curds (FRESH, not refrigerated. NEVER refrigerated) chicken booyah, among many
of the things you can look forward to. I think for the chicken booyah you might have to go to some church picnic.
The old way of making it is the best.

If you havent found this web site, try this for looking.

https://www.wisconsinhomes.com/  

Since it looks like a 30 min drive to Madtown isnt an issue, Have you looked at places like Cambridge, Lake Mills, Jefferson (abit more than 30min) al to the east of Madison?

As I posted in the other thread, I'd go about 10 minutes north of Mauston.  More land and better prices as long as you don't mind being a little more secluded.  

I'll shoot you an IM with my phone number.  I just bought in that area.

I haven't.  I might need to start expanding my search because its been a bit rough so far.  
Appreciate the help and the webpage, I'll check that out.

It's strange. I bought last year July about an hour north of Madison and according to all the liarmeters (Zillow, Redfin, etc) my home "value" has dropped since buying. However if I look at houses for sale on those same platforms, those houses just continue rise in price. That's with a comparable property. Better home but less acreage. More acreage, comparable home, no 2100sqft polebarn. And on and on. So to the original question, I have absolutely zero idea whether you should wait or not. How badly do you want to get out of Madison and have a house? This market is completely fucked with high prices and high rates... yet the houses sell quickly and prices keep going up with rates.

My wife and I just moved into Iowa County just over the line from Dane. We saved a ton of money on the house and taxes are much lower. The people are better too, but the Madison influence is creeping in. There’s a few new houses being built in Arena and Barneveld. Bonus for Barneveld is Vortex HQ is there!

We actually recently checked out a builder in Arena.  The only surprising thing for us is that the town doesn't even have a grocery store.  Not a deal killer, but not something I would have expected from a place within 30 or so minutes from a larger local city.

I live about eleven miles south of Mauston. I have several grocery stores within a 20 minute drive. Unfortunately, I have to drive almost an hour one way just to buy a pair of blue jeans.
Gary

There is a Festival in Mauston, a WalMart in Tomah.  Mauston also has a store much like Aldi which is where I do most of my shopping.  My advise is to get some land and grow a garden, get a chest freezer and buy a 1/4 cow and a 1/2 pig in case it's a bad hunting year.  If you stay close to the interstate you'll find most basic stuff at truck stops.  The BP in New Lisbon is my go to.  

Going to Mauston to a grocery store takes the same amount of time as it does for me now from a subdivision in New Berlin to the grocery store.  We haven't moved up there permanently yet and I bounce back and forth getting projects done.

Neighbor just put some land up for sale. 8.18 acres for only $195k It,s a ole pine tree plantation, lot is 250 feet by 1320 I think. There are 5 other neighbors close by, only 250 foot. You'd be right in the middle next to the horse pasture. LMAO. Some idiot will buy it.

Not the area you're looking for, but it reflects the bigger trend of skyrocketing prices. Up north in my area (Vilas/Oneida) home prices have soared through the roof due to 2 factors.

1.) A huge migration of former city people (who work from home on the internet and bring their "jobs" with them) moving north has created a big supply/demand shortage of homes for sale. Add to that, the lack of enough competent builders to build homes for people buying vacant land has created the huge demand for everything livable, and a very short supply. Most contractors are booked 3 years out, as are most subs.

2.) The fact that the old family lakeside resort that was the draw of the northwoods has become a thing of the past. The overwhelming majority of them have been split up and the old rental cottages sold off. Meaning there's a lack of places for vacationers to stay at, other than a big motel/hotel in town. That's not what most families want, they want to be on the water, carrying on the family tradition they grew up with. Enter the vrbo/airbnb trend. People have discovered that buying up vacant homes and renting them out by the week for even just half the year, pays the mortgage on it. Now people can have that 2nd home up north that they couldn't afford without the rental income that the vrbo provides. So now there's even less stuff available to buy or rent for anyone who wants to live in it full time that the vrbos haven't snatched up. Most of the vrbo buyers aren't doing it to make an extra income (some investors are), they're doing it solely because it's the only way they can afford that 2nd home up north. They don't want to rent it to strangers, but it's the only way they can afford to buy it.

Its a win - lose for those of us who have been here pre-covid / pre-riots / pre-Bidenflation. It's a 'win' because the skyrocketing prices (and rents) have given us huge equity gains. My house is now worth double what it was 5 years ago. The 'lose' is if I sell it, where will I go? Anything I want to buy has increased drastically also. Another 'lose' is what it will do to the property taxes when assessments catch up to "fair market prices".

Another bad aspect is the influx of work-from-home people is, it has put a huge demand on existing infrastructure and workforce, especially in the business sector. Employers can't find enough help because the newbs bring a good paying, remotely located, job with them... they're not seeking local employment, but they occupy a living space that a locally employed person otherwise would, and they become more "customers" at severely understaffed businesses. New employees are not moving in to fill the employment voids even though wages have risen sharply, as employers fight over existing help with wage hikes, because there aren't any homes for them to buy or rent to live in if they move here. The good side of this is, people already established here, with a place to live at the lower mortgage / rental rates, have seen their incomes go way up, as now they are in high demand and there's a low supply.

In Dane county, I don’t really see prices dropping anytime soon. Certainly not in Rock county where I’m at. Too much Illinois money coming up here buying.

I live near Mazo/ Black Earth Any houses around here are sold within a week. Including some condemned buildings.

House just came on the market close to my place outside of poynette. Older farmhouse from the looks of it, 5 acres, couple outbuildings 320k. Layout looks a bit odd from the pictures, but not much hits the market around here in the country so it’s a decent option.

Could always go to Texas lol
Houses there are already starting to sit for months with people trying to sell, and Sellers now having to come down in price just to entice someone in.

Thats the biggest thing I'm trying to wrap my head around up here so far.  I know the prices reflect the lack of inventory, but its still hard to swallow when I purchased a new 1600sq-ft ranch on 1/3 acre in 2017 for $194k...
Our area didn't get as much of a "boom" as others and we sold last year for $260k
Fast forward to house hunting here, and that money doesn't even buy you a condemned property lol  We're looking at $400k minimum just to get back into something like we had.  

Texas? Nah...nice place to visit in winter, but I could not take the heat in the summers... my "melting point" is ~80 degrees, it's why I live so far north. I had 40 acres in New Mexico, left to me and a sister, by my aunt. We sold it. She's in FL in winter, up here in the northwoods in summers. I can't take the hot climate in FL either. I was a roofer (flat roofs - hot tar & gravel) from age 18-37, and I had my share of heat exhaustion, even had one trip in an ambulance on a 100 degree day. I'll take zero degrees over 90 any day.  

The higher prices here are a recent phenomenon, I'd say within last 2 years (like everything else - FJB). At least that's the case in the far north. Even rents have at least doubled - some places they've tripled - in just the last 18-24 months. all due to the mass exodus from the cities I described above.