Sun, Buyers, Rates and the Value of a REALTOR

1) The sun is out, buyers have returned and it was a great weekend for open houses! Anyone out driving around on this past Sunday had to notice scads of open house signs on almost every corner. I wish I would have had my camera when came across one Rocklin corner with eight different signs. I did an open house and had lots of visitors, with many saying they have been waiting for a nice weekend to start looking. Best of all, one of my other listings sold!
2) Rates are up again. The rate on a 30-year mortgage rose for the fifth consecutive week. Freddie Mac reported the fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.59 percent, up for 6.53 percent last week. This is the highest it has been since the week of June 20, 2002 when rates stood at 6.63 percent.
3) A REALTOR does more for sellers than make the transaction easier, they make them money. In fact, in a recent study conducted by the National Association of REALTORS, it was reported the average seller who uses a real estate professional makes 16 percent more on the sale of their home than do sellers who go it alone. Even if the survey was biased, this is an impressive number and the sellers going it alone must recognize it because their numbers have dropped consistently from a high of 18 percent in 1997 to only 13 percent in 2005.

Warm days, cool evenings, it really is Spring!