Monthly articles, penned by our team members, highlight a wide range of topics from real estate information to current events in the area. Some stories may even be written just for laughs. We invite you to visit our site each month to read Stapleton News & Views.
Mortgage Rates Are Dropping. What Does That Mean for You?
Mortgage rates have been a hot topic in the housing market over the past 12 months. Compared to the beginning of 2022, rates have risen dramatically. Now they’re dropping, and that has to do with everything happening in the economy. Nadia Evangelou, Senior Economist and Director of Forecasting at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), explains it well by saying: “Mortgage rates dropped even further this week as two main factors affecting today’s mortgage market became [...]
Sellers Market?
If you’re thinking about selling your house, you’re likely hearing about the cooling housing market and wondering what that means for you. While it’s not the peak intensity we saw during the pandemic, we’re still in a sellers’ market. That means you haven’t missed your window. Realtor.com explains: “. . . while prospective home sellers may lament that they missed their prime window, in reality, this is still a terrific time to sell. In fact, [...]
Neighborhood Nicknames
Reading an article earlier this month by Bob Dohr of NOW titled “ Why are Milwaukee’s suburbs called what they are?” had me thinking about how even within the City of Oconomowoc, the areas have official names and nicknames. West of Downtown and north of Wisconsin Avenue is “Merchants Plat” as it is currently known, where the houses designed by Roy Henszey for the Carnation Company executives are found along Woodland Lane [...]
History of the Boat Parade
The Oconomowoc Boat parade has a long history of entertaining hundreds of people over the decades. A lot of hard work and creativity has gone into the creation of boats over the years. The parade‘s original date is uncertain as to when it began, but there was a day time parade with no lights in the 1970’s. In 1972 the Bill Chapman boat won 1st place with the “Good Ship Lollipop”. The [...]
Is the Market Still HOT?
Many people watch the real estate market with great interest. It is fun to imagine what we could sell our homes for or to see what the houses near us are selling for. Without question, these past months have been some of the hottest months in real estate in the Lake Country in years. We have seen a much smaller inventory, which has driven the prices for what comes for sale [...]
De-Clutter
A rainy summer day is a perfect time to tackle some of the decluttering and prep work to get your home ready to sell. We don’t expect your closets to look like The Home Edit showed up to rainbow color-coordinated everything but items shouldn’t be falling out when people take a look…and they will take a look. Sorting things into categories: donate, re-home, trash, and keep will help you quickly move through spaces. [...]
How to Choose…
When you are looking to start the process of buying or selling a home, what is your “step one”? First things first, you are going to need a Realtor. We believe that when it comes to finding your Realtor, it is very important to find someone you can relate with. The journey of buying or selling a home can be emotional, frustrating, and a bit stressful at times- but if you have [...]
Olympia
Olympia Resort opened with great fanfare in 1974 with guests arriving in tuxedos for the men and flowing dresses for the ladies, some of which came from New York and other metropolitan areas as investors in the development. It was a grand hotel that offered several amenities that included an 18 hole golf course and ski hill (the dirt that created the hill came from a new highway they were building then, [...]
What is the attraction of Lake Country?
Why are people moving to the Lake Country Area in droves? There are several reasons…The Lake Country Area which includes the charming communities of Pewaukee, Delafield, Hartland, Merton, Nashotah, Chenequa, Okauchee, Oconomowoc, Summit, Lac La Belle and more, have an abundance of beautiful lakes. There are approximately 25 of them in this immediate area. There are also many parks and recreational places where you can hike, bike, golf and camp. Lake Country [...]
Northcote on North Lake
It has been Stapleton Realty’s pleasure, and good fortune, to represent a number of fabulous properties for sale over our 40 years in business. But, I have to say, having the excitement of being able to market the Northcote Estate, nestled in Chenequa will be a highlight and delight beyond works. Steeped in history, the property on almost 15 private acres having 140 feet of prime sandy North Lake frontage, tennis court, [...]
Celebrating 40 Years
Being forty years in the business is not just about experience, it is mostly about the relationships and the help we have been able to provide to the people we work with. In those years, we have created developments, listed many homes, businesses or land for our clients and helped them to find the same. Selling a property, especially a home, is about connecting the needs and lifestyle wants of our clients [...]
Confusing Home Buying/Selling Days
It is attractive to think about selling your home today. Higher prices, low interest rates to buy something else, and bidding wars with multiple offers per sale, all make it look inviting. Before you pick up the phone to give us a call, there are some things you should know and consider. To begin down the road of selling today, you first have to know where you are going. Having a destination [...]
Start of Summer
Oconomowoc is enjoying a flurry of activity, especially now that nice weather is upon us. Last Saturday the city was busy with the 5k/Half Marathon starting on Village Green and the start of the Summer Farmer’s Market in the parking lot across from Bank Five Nine. This Saturday there will literally be a “big splash” into Lac La Belle with the SOFA events that begin at the City Beach and go on [...]
Chapman Park
Do you know about Chapman Park? Coming this summer is a new park in the City of Oconomowoc dedicated to the life and accomplishments of Attorney Bill Chapman. The 18 acre park is located on the southeast side of the City and features grassy pathways and a pond know by some as “Aunt Polly’s Washtub”. The first phase of the park, thanks to a generous donation by Pabst Farms, and supported by [...]
What is a Seller’s Market and how does it affect you?
Currently in the US, the majority of the housing market is a Seller’s market. Home prices are rising and inventory is tight, meaning there are not enough houses on the market for buyers. We also know that it is a seller’s market because the “DOM”, (days on the market), are very short, often less than 10 days. In a lot of areas, the final sales price is exceeding the list price.Here are [...]