It’s official, from the State of Wisconsin Department of Revenue:

“Recreational and waterfront properties in many Wisconsin communities, often undeveloped land, remain stable overall.”

Read the official press release and follow the links to Wisconsin Equalized Property Values here:
Wisconsin Real Estate Values PDF

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:  “. . . there are bargains in Wisconsin now on recreational land.”

Read the original article here: JS Online

11/12/2008 7:47:00 AM

Ag-Rural Land Remains A Sound Investment

The recent economic turbulence that has placed the Dow Jones Industrial average and global financial markets in turmoil has investors understandably skittish. With the value of their stock portfolios declining, Americans with discretionary cash are looking for alternatives.

Often overlooked is agricultural land. With one exception — that being the farm crisis of the early 1980s — rural land values have increased steadily since the 1950s. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, rural land values rose 13.5 percent nationwide during the previous decade alone, while dollars invested in the S&P 500 produced no gain after accounting for inflation (E.S. Browning, “Stocks Tarnished by Lost Decade,” Wall Street Journal, March 26, 2008). (more…)

You know summer has finally arrived in Wisconsin when the wind carries the fragrant smell of freshly cut lawns, and brats on the grill.  For those of you not familiar with this Wisconsin delicacy, a brat (rhymes with hot) is a German style sausage served on a bun, a bratwurst.

This past weekend at the World’s Largest Brat Fest, held annually in Madison,  189,432 bratwursts were consumed, a Brat Fest record.  That amounts to 37,886 pounds of brats, or over 200 miles of brats if ‘linked’ (pun intended) end to end.

On your next drive up north just imagine a line of brats strung down the center-line guiding you home.

Read the full story here:

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2008/05/wisconsin-plent.html

There have long been unsubstantiated rumors of cougar sightings in Wisconsin, ‘bar talk’ as the grapevine is know in these parts, but now it is a proven fact. Sadly, our only cougar crossed the border into Illinois where he met his demise. Too bad he didn’t take a left at McHenry and head up north.

Here’s a link to the article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-cougarautopsy,0,4441738.story

Here’s an interesting take on the ‘cougar-cide’: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=746216

And, for some real good info about cougars in Wisconsin browse around the excellent WI DNR site: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/er/mammals/cougar/index.htm

If and when you get up this way we can’t promise you’ll witness your own cougar sighting, but we’ll give you a good shot at seeing eagles, deer, porcupines, otters, muskrat . . .

If you’ve ever experienced a classic Wisconsin wedding you’ve either witnessed or participated in a polka known as the ‘Chicken Dance’.  While this dance is often seen in other parts of the country, the Chicken Dance is a mandatory ritual of getting hitched in Wisconsin.

If you ever get invited to a wedding in Wisconsin here’s how it goes: (more…)

March 4, 2008 by Mike Walsten, www.agweb.com

Land values roared 22% to 30% across South Dakota in 2007, according to the most recent quarterly survey of agricultural bankers in the state. That eye-blinking surge leads the pack of breath-taking gains reported across the upper Midwest for 2007 by the Federal Reserve Banks of Minneapolis and Chicago. The Fed banks survey ag bankers each quarter, asking them a host of questions concerning ag loans, credit conditions and land values. The most recent survey covers the period ending December 31, 2007.

Values surged 16% across northern Illinois, northern Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin, the region served by the Chicago Fed bank. Lenders responding to the survey noted values rose by 6% in the fourth quarter alone. Leading the Chicago district was Iowa, with bankers there saying values jumped 18% in 2007 and 6% during the fourth quarter. Indiana bankers said values rose 16% while Illinois and Michigan bankers reported a 15% gain in 2007. Wisconsin posted the smallest increase at 11%.

Values exploded 16% to 20% across Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and northwesten Wisconsin, the region served by the Minneapolis Fed bank. The bank says values rose the greatest in South Dakota (up 22% for dryland and 30% for ranchland) and the slowest in Montana, up 5% and 3% respectively.

Read article in it’s original format here:

http://www.agweb.com/Blogs/BlogPost.aspx?PID=89b7b4f0-ae27-4b83-b21c-4e3e44790aec

You can own a lake lot on one of these lakes! - Vermilac Lake

U.P. Offers Three Lake for Pike Opportunity

By Robert Dock Stupp - Fishing and Hunting News

Vermilac Lake In Baraga County

The day may come, of course, when trophy hunting doesn’t provide fast enough action, and you yearn for 1-gallon plastic bags of pike filets to take home for pickling. That’s when anglers turn to Vermilac Lake, aka Worm Lake.

Vermilac spans 622 acres and, believe me, most anglers won’t go 5 minutes before pulling a pike out of a hole. Michigan DNR’s Gunderman describes it as “a family place, without many pike reaching 24 inches. Most of the pike will average 17 to 22 inches, but there is no size limit.” This is very fun fishing, especially when it’s hand-over-hand combat with a mouthful of teeth at the other end of a tip-up line.

Only 7 feet deep, the lake does not experience winterkill because of the steady influx of fresh water from the Murphy and Vermilac rivers, and the out-flowing Rock River. Experienced anglers know that fishing in close proximity to these current spots offers super prospects for catching lots of feisty pike.

Vermilac Lake is located north of Crystal Falls on Highway 141 near Covington. There is a launch access and a view of the lake from Hwy. 28.

Information on Baraga County and Vermilac Lake is available by calling the Western Lake Superior Management Unit of the DNR at (906) 353-6651.

Here’s the complete article:

(more…)

No matter what we hear on the nightly news, no matter how much money we have in the bank, no matter how long we’ve been thinking about or looking at property, and even if we’re standing on the perfect property we’d like to own we all ask one question before we sign a purchase agreement: “Is this a good time to buy real estate?” It’s a lot easier to answer that question and sleep well at night after buying property if we’re just a little better informed about the status of the real estate market. Here are some recent articles pertaining to recreational real estate:

Vacation Property Sales Increase by Phoebe Chongchua, Realty Times

“definite green light to anyone thinking of buying a vacation property.” (more…)