The real estate market seems to be developing momentum. The number of homes on the market is still down from last year.  With listings down and buyers out shopping, competitively priced homes in desirable areas are garnering mutiple offers, even in the upper price ranges. A Corte Madera home listed at $1,975,000 received five offers and sold for $2,300,000. This home was pristine and staged to sell.  High quality staging can have a significant impact on the number of offers.

In some price ranges, there are still a number of nice, reasonably priced homes that are sitting after several weeks and even months on the market. Many of these homes would benefit from expert advice on staging and property preparation. 

Last week the National Association of Realtors released February numbers which showed that home resales had their largest largest one month gain in nearly three years. It was the biggest gain since March 2004. Thirty-year fixed-mortgage interest rates averaged 6.29 percent during February 2007, compared with 6.25 percent in February 2006, according to Freddie Mac. Adjustable-mortgage interest rates averaged 5.51 percent in February 2007 compared with 5.34 percent in February 2006.

What’s on the horizon?

Many experts say 2007 may be a record breaking year.  My sense is that the market will level out and be relatively balanced as we get into the busy late spring and summer months when more listings come on the market.