Don and Betty Draper, married in 1953, divorced in season three, lived in Ossining, NY a city comparable to Madison, WI in its housing stock; modest to luxurious. The Draper home is a style common to Nakoma, Maple Bluff, Shorewood Hills, University Heights, Vilas, and University Hill Farms.
The attraction of these neighborhoods is the same today as when the Drapers were raising their 3 children...proximity to quality schools, shopping, work, and parks. With modern updates like thermopane windows, high efficiency furnaces, central air conditioning, and added insulation, to complement the plaster walls, wood floors, and large yards, a 1950's house may be as wonderful to own as any home built in the last 10 years.
With an eye on family life, ease of getting to work and children's schools, without long commutes, we're seeing young people (30 somethings) looking close at the classic Madison neighborhoods where their grandparents lived. The move to inside of the Beltline is good news for home sellers who may have taken a beating on their retirement funds. Competition is good for prices and it certainly will make it easier to make that commitment to get on with downsizing when you can see that some of your lost equity in your home is back.
After a string of maddening years of down markets and slow activity, 2013 may be the year to cash out on the recovered equity and take advantage of still low interest rates.
