Timing the Market - Interest rates are key!

Real estate is local but public perception seems to always be less than so. Perception becomes reality with enough news coverage in one direction or another. In my market, less than 4% of our inventory is REO business and this is almost exclusively in our low end of inventory. The mortgage news affects, however, a big part of our business, no matter what, even for those who are buying $2M plus properties, with only the first $1M of mortgage interest being tax deductible. Our sales are increasing, our REO inventory has multiple offers (my last one had 20 offers!) and those buyers who have been fence sitting for a while area realizing that while this may not be the "bottom of the market" for real estate value, it most likely is for interest rates! This is the story we have to continue to tell - buy in a market that you "know" - today's market you know the value of the property, and you know your interest rate as well. Mortgage rate timing is the most critical aspect of any transaction.