…I’ve been warning for quite some time, and today’s little rate spike probably opened a few eyes. If you’re thinking of buying a home, and you’ve been trying to time the market hoping that rates will drop another 1/8 point, it’s probably not worth the risk.

If you’re asking ‘what caused rates to jump up,’ you should check out this great little summary over on the BloodhoundBlog, so take a look

While ‘Affordability’ is a relative term, there is apparently an index that tracks home affordability and, according to that index, Home Affordability Just Hit an 18-Year High. Could this be the reason I see younger people buying their first home than I’ve ever seen before, or could it be the Home Buyer Tax Credit?

My money’s on both.

With the weather we’ve had lately, the annual Edmond Jazz & Blues Festival couldn’t have come at a better time, so grab your blankets, lawn chairs and sunscreen and head to Stephenson Park this weekend for some great, FREE outdoor family fun! Want to see the

The question of when economic recovery will come can be debated all day long, and I may be more optimistic than others, as there are still credit struggles aplenty; and it’s not only the end consumer that’s facing tougher credit guidelines.

However, I believe those same credit struggles that are making things tougher will make our market stronger in the long run and will help speed up our recovery, as they control the amount of new inventory coming into the marketplace.

One belief I’m not alone in though:

“When economic recovery comes, home prices will skyrocket.”

I showed you yesterday what inventory levels in the OKC market are doing. Are you timing the market, or will you miss the boat?

From a visual standpoint, curb appeal may well be the most important part of getting your home sold.  If people don’t like what they see from the street, why in the world would they waste their time checking out the inside?

So, in order to maximize the number of potential buyers for your home, you MUST make sure your curb appeal is top notch.  There are many things you can do, but why not get started with Money Magazine’s short list of low-cost fixes for curb appeal woes?

I stumbled across an interesting article from CNNMoney.com this morning, which outlines what some believe to be the 3 signs the economy is rebounding.

I can’t speak to the first and third points in the article, but I thought this would be a good time to brag (again) about what’s happening locally and tie it into their second bullet point.  In regards to housing supply, the article states:

Slowly improving. At the end of March there was less than a 10-month supply, down from 11 months in the fall.

However, the Oklahoma City Metro market shows a very different picture, as evidenced by this chart:

As you can see, not only is our housing inventory decreasing, it’s actually almost back to where it was before our local market began really feeling the effects of the downward national real estate trends.

The ‘LISTING OF THE WEEK‘, located at 11665 Marbella Dr, is one of our beautiful listings, and will be open to the public today and tomorrow from 2 to 5.  Here are some pictures to whet your appetite:

NEED DIRECTIONS??

Spring is the perfect time to do some much-needed, and often neglected, home maintenance. Just doing the simple things can dramatically increase your home’s value in the long-run, because it will help you avoid potential problems down the road.

Realtor Magazine just put out a great little short-list of things you should do right now.  I’ll add to this list that changing your HVAC filters every 30 days will go a long way toward extending the life of your climate-control systems, so get on it!!

Money magazine recently published some low-cost ideas to get your home sold more quickly, and they’re not too shabby.

Kitchen touch-ups are probably one of the things that will net you the most interest and possibly an increase in sales price, so don’t neglect that kitchen if you want top dollar and a quick sale!

The April real estate statistics were just published for the OKC, Edmond, and surrounding areas and, while they weren’t as exciting as I’d expected, there are still a lot of positives in these numbers.

With the flurry of activity we’ve seen over the past 4-6 weeks though, I’m still betting that May closings will give us some pretty staggering numbers… stay tuned!