Foreclosures will continue to rise with unemployment, keeping real estate prices from rising in harder hit areas, and home values as a whole are expected to remain flat for some time.

Interest rates are not expected to continue dropping and will most likely head in the opposite direction, expected to hold steady around 5.2%. According to the Wall Street Journal, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke himself recently locked in a refinance on his residence, a clear indication that rates just might be as good as they’re going to get.

For now, the data shows that real estate sales are on the rise and will continue to improve as long as the mortgage rates stay low and the tax credit remains in place — all boding well for Charlotte, NC real estate. What happens during the latter half of 2010 is up in the air, but for now the good news is far better than the news of a year ago.

Here in the Charlotte real estate market at Dickens-Mitchener & Associates there has been a good deal of activity in different neighborhoods this past year. We want not only to keep you informed locally, but on a national front as well. Real estate is showing strong signs of recovery across the country.  Last month, real estate sales were up over 7% for sales of existing homes.  The increase in real estate sales was seen in every region of the United States, due mainly to the first time home buyer tax credit, which was originally set to expire at the end of November, 2009.  Low mortgage rates and low home prices have also been catalyst.

Foreclosures will continue to rise with unemployment, keeping real estate prices from rising in harder hit areas, and home values as a whole are expected to remain flat for some time.

Interest rates are not expected to continue dropping and will most likely head in the opposite direction, expected to hold steady around 5.2%.  According to the Wall Street Journal, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke himself recently locked in a refinance on his residence, a clear indication that rates just might be as good as they’re going to get.

For now, the data shows that real estate sales are on the rise and will continue to improve as long as the mortgage rates stay low and the tax credit remains in place — all boding well for Charlotte, NC real estate.  What happens during the latter half of 2010 is up in the air, but for now the good news is far better than the news of a year ago.