Mortgage rates have been creeping up slowly, but are still fairly steady so far this year.  Right now the average mortgage interest rate is 5.07 percent for a conventional 30-year fixed rate loan.  Buyers are getting FHA interest rates at about 5.35 percent, with at least 3.5 percent expected for down payment.

Meanwhile stocks are on the uptick for home builders as we’ve seen a surge in new home sales int he last month.  From a personal level, my view is that we’ll see April as the best month we’ve seen in real estate in two years with home under contract.  Buyers are rushing to beat the deadline of April 30th to be under contract so they can receive the $8000 first-time home buyer tax credit.

In this past week alone, I’ve written three contracts and I’m not a mega seller like other agents.  However, once the deadline passes, it’s fair to say that lenders and real estate agents alike are very concerned about where the market will go next.