Real Estate Blues

The real estate market has been astrong foundation under the nation'seconomy since it slipped into recession.Home prices have not only stood up duringthe economic downturn, they've alsotaken off as historically low mortgagerates have fueled buyers' appetites, withthe median price of a single-family homeup by 22.4% over the past 2 years. Butthe recent surge in mortgage rates hascaused some buyers to back out of dealsthat were attractive just a month or 2ago, which has some economists worriedthat real estate prices will begin to flattenout and even drop in some markets. Tomake their homes more marketable,many sellers have begun to offer incentives,such as picking up all or part of theclosing costs or helping to pay for movingexpenses. Shop around for the best deals.