It is April 1st in Jackson County, Wisconsin. Winter doesn't quite want to let go as Mother Nature played one more joke on us as we awoke to more snow on the ground. The warmth of an April sun and the new snow is rapidly diminishing, leaving behind only the stubborn piles from a brutal winter. It is good to see the driveway again and the lawn looks great even though the brown hasn't yet begun to turn to green. The daffodil stems are sneaking a peek from their bed, unsure if it is safe yet but eager to be reborn.

I am often asked if it is a good time to buy or sell now. Have we hit bottom yet on interest rates and home prices or should I wait? I can tell buyers right now that if you try to time the exact bottom of this market, you have probably missed it and run the risk of chasing prices up while watching interest rates rise slightly with no further drops. Even the national media is relaxing a bit on their doom and gloom scenarios. Yes, there are parts of the country that will still face very challenging times, but this is why we should have never been down as much as we were and why we are in the process of improving now:

1) Lending practices are much more conservative in our neck of the woods than the nation as a whole. 100% mortgages, sub-prime loans and adjustable rate mortgages are not as prevalent. I still run into sellers that owe more than the market will bear to sell their home, but this is not a common occurrence. We do not have as many foreclosed properties clogging our market.

2) We did not see home values appreciate at the same pace as the areas of the country that are paying for it now. Growth was at a more sustainable rate and we have not dropped as much in this downturn.

Unlike many of my colleagues, I don't say you shouldn't listen to the national media. By all means... listen and learn. You just need to understand that as a stock market is really a market of individual stocks, the real estate market is all about individual properties and circumstances. If you have a reason to buy or sell, then it doesn't make sense to wait for the perfect situation to come along.

What we are seeing in western Wisconsin the past few weeks is a huge increase in showings. The nationwide average for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage was 5.85% for the week ending March 27th. Not much different than the rates we have seen hovering either side of 6%, but the latest moves by the Fed have had an influence on the attitudes of buyers. Mortgage applications increased a whopping 48%. The truly interesting aspect is buyers began pulling the trigger in unison. I, myself, had 3 accepted offers the past week and other real estate professionals are beginning to write more offers. What will happen very shortly is that the best properties will be snatched up! Sellers will be less likely to budge on price as the buzz of all this increased activity filters down to them. If you are waiting to find the absolute lowest prices, you probably just missed them. Waiting further will find you chasing prices higher and getting frustrated as the quality of the inventory diminishes.

One last word on interest rates. We will have to leave it to the historians how time will judge this artificial lowering of interest rates. The Fed is walking a fine line. On the one hand, they want to inspire economic activity. On the other hand, we have inflationary pressures mounting with rising fuel and food prices. Historically, we are at very affordable interest rates for housing. If you are betting on interest rates going much lower, you are ignoring the main role of the Fed which is to protect us from raging inflation. The risk/reward of waiting solely for lower interest rates simply is not worth it.

Have we turned the corner on the real estate market? You Bet! At least in Jackson County, Wisconsin. A great inventory of affordable homes to choose from and historically low interest rates. What are you waiting for? I also Assist-2-Sell BUY and will be happy to explain what a Buyer's Agent can do for you.

EJ