The Latest:

Well, not a lot of new items since last week. However, in weekly figures just released yesterday, mortgage rates again hit all-time low levels. This after a couple of weeks of marginal increases, albeit an increase of two or three basis points (100 bp's to a percentage point) really doesn't mean a whole lot at these historic levels. This week's rates matched those of a few weeks ago: 4.17% for a thirty year fixed rate loan.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you've held off buying due to interest rates, there is no time like NOW to jump into the market and BUY! Prices are still relatively low, and, although signs are showing they may have passed bottom and begun a turnaround, they're a long way from the heights of late 2007. Take advantage of this opportunity!

Sellers: my advice to you is to consider this as an opportunity as well. True, you won't get anywhere near what you could have three years ago, but there are hordes of buyers on the market looking at present. Talk with your Realtor and prepare the home for sale to get the best possible price even in today's market. Consider staging, and, most important, price it correctly. If the comps show value at $700,000, don't shoot for $900,000. It ain't gonna' happen, and all you'll do is delay any sale by a number of months, costing yourself Dollars in sale price below what you could have reasonably expected had you priced it correctly to begin with.

Questions? Call us at: (415) 380-2133 or email at: pjrichmond@pacunion.com . Good luck and see you next week!