...By Kiley Black

Despite the fact that mortgage rates rose for the third straight week, mortgage rates are still low. However, if you are thinking about buying or selling a home, now would be the time. Because even though rates are low, (in the mid fours for a 30-year fixed), they may continue to go up through the end of this year and into 2011.
But, coming off of slightly lower numbers in existing home sales, the National Association of Realtors announced a 10.4% increase in pending home sales. This number is 20% lower than the same time last year, but there was no tax credit this year for buying a home. This national number was led by the Midwest, but, good news for the Northeast, we saw a 19.6% increase in pending home sales. What does this mean? People are getting more confident about the economy and are reacting with confidence. With confidence comes the purchase of homes. Fewer people are worried about affording a new home, and more people feel like taking the plunge.
So even though rates are going up, they are still lower than this time last year, Bostonians are buying and selling homes. With an economy doing better than expected, the rates are bound to rise. Mortgage rates in the fours are still low. If you are thinking about buying or selling, contact your Realtor today because with pending sales rising in the Northeast, it means we are ready to buy and move on.