Joanne Fishman Lamorinda Real Estate

Beautiful spring, wisteria in bloom.

Home staging helps a home sell faster and for more money. That's some of the insight from a new survey from the National Association of Realtors. It shows that staging a home makes it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as his or her future home. Because of the importance of on-line visuals due to Covid-19 often restricting property visits, home staging has become an integral part of the home buying process. The biennial report, the 2021 Profile of Home Staging, l...ooks as the elements of staging, including the perspectives of both buyers' and sellers' agents, the role of television programming and the expectations of buyers. "Staging a home helps consumers see the full potential of a given space or property," said Jessica Lautz, NAR's Vice President of demographics and behavioral insights. "It features the home in its best light and helps would=be buyers envision its various possibilities." Some 83 percent of the buyers' agents surveyed said having photographs for their listings was more important since the b beginning of the pandemic. Seventy-four percent said the same about videos, and 73 percent said having virtual tours available for their listings was more important in the wake of Covid-19. In addition, the report noted that 23 percent of buyers' agents said home staging raised the dollar value offered between 1 and 5 percent. Moreover, 31 percent said home staging greatly decreased the amount of time a home spent on the market.

Since January mortgage rates have moved up half a percentage point reaching 3.17 percent for the 30-year fixed rate mortgage, according to today's report from Fannie Mae. The 15-year fixed rate now stands at 2.45 percent. While these rates still are at historic lows, the rate increases nonetheless leave potential home buyers with less purchasing power. During the course of the pandemic, a home has become increasingly important as buyers, largely working from home, have sought more livable space, both inside and out. As a result the strong purchase demand continues but inventory remains low with buyers outnumbering sellers.

And in Lamorinda, these homes should go quickly. Inventory is at historic lows. Indeed, nationally the number of homes for sale dropped by 29.5 percent in February compared to a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. And properties typically sell in 20 days, also a record low.

Mortgage rates this week continued to inch up but remain around three percent, which is a plus for potential buyers. However, residential construction has declined for two consecutive months. Given the low inventory, both nationally and in East Bay, this presents a challenging environment for home buyers. Freddie Mac's 30-year fixed rate this week stood at 3.09 percent while the 15-year fixed rate is at 2.4 percent. The competitive market means a potential home buyer needs to start the home buying process by obtaining loan approval from his or her lender. With this one will know what one can afford and thus will know what neighborhoods to focus on. It also adds strength to one's purchase offer.

Since reaching a low point in January, mortgage rates have risen by more than 30 basis points, according to Freddie Mac. While purchase activity remains high, it has cooled off over the past few weeks and currently is on par with early March 2020, it reports. "However, the rise in mortgage rates over the next couple of months is likely to be more muted in comparison to the last few weeks and we expect a strong spring sales season," it said. At present the 30-year fixed rate mortgage is 3.02 percent while the 15-year fixed mortgage is 2.34 percent.