Realtor Ramona Martin notes, "Buyers are looking at more homes and areas than in the recent past. The home in the best condition and priced right will still get multiple offers in a shorter market time than the average. Homes with obvious deferred maintenance are attracting low offers. The DFW area is still attracting corporations such as Fluor. The job market is improved and many are taking this time of low interest rates to move up to larger homes. Sellers need to be ready for these buyers. Transferring buyers are coming to town this Fall. Owners should be ready to take advantage of this market."

"Existing home sales rose two percent in August to $7.29M units which is the second highest mark on record. Existing home sales are expected to fall slightly over the next several months but should finish the year with another record year. New home sales slipped by 9.9 percent in August as compared to July and we expect this number to continue to fall slightly throughout the remainder of the year but still finish the year above last years record pace," say Realtors Janet and Stuart Brenner.

"Prices nationwide have increased by over 15 percent while metro Atlanta has seen about a 5 to 7 percent increase. Rates continue to inch up but are still hovering near historical lows. Expect mortgage rates to continue to inch up and my break the 6 percent mark on 30 year fixed rates prior to the end of the year. The yield curve continues to "flatten" making fixed rate mortgages much more attractive than they have been in several years. Currently, there is only about a .5 percent difference in rate between 3 year ARMS and 30 year fixed rates. This spread was over 1.5 percent at this time last year making 30 year fixed rate mortgages much more attractive. Look for this spread to continue to narrow over the next 90 days."

Published: October 26, 2005

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