By now we're all used to the steady onslaught of bad news about the U.S. real estate market, but Forbes.com changed the tone a bit recently when they released their list of the 5 Best Cities for Home Sellers.

Somewhat surprisingly, the top three cities are in the west, a region of the country that's been hit the hardest by the mortgage crisis.

San Jose and San Francisco, California, and Salt Lake City, Utah are all hotbeds for home sellers, according to the report.

This good news is backed up by Vestira Incorporated in the Bay area, whose president, Brian Rossman, says his team has been able to secure low interest rates from 5.5 percent up to 6.25 percent on certain 30-year Conforming fixed rate mortgages.

Darryl Deighton in Colorado Springs, Colorado, however, says his market is decidedly favoring buyers, and inventory for March 2008 was up 3.4 percent over March 2007.

Sales were down about 19 percent over the same time period, he says, which means buyers should have more leverage in the less competitive market.

And in Lake Havasu City, Arizona John Bemis admonishes sellers that homes that area priced right are selling first, and sellers that want to start high and come down later may find that buyers pass them by altogether.

The bottom line seems to be that there is plenty of activity out there to get your home sold, but it takes a combination of right pricing and REALTOR know-how to get the job done.

Published: May 2, 2008

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