Cheryl Bourland's blog

On Tuesday, the National Association of Realtors released their report on the state of the housing market for January 2016. The results? Despite expectations of a decline, total existing-home sales actually increased slightly in the first month of the year, reaching a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.47 million! At the same time, home prices continued their upward climb while mortgage rates remained in free fall.

On Thursday, March 17, be sure to come down to the Balboa Lounge for some delicious St. Patrick's Day fun! From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., the Lounge will be serving their famous corned beef sandwiches with chips while Michael Bearden supplies the entertainment. Sandwiches can be preordered for just $5 from now through March 15 at hsvticketsales.com, or purchased at the door for $7. For more information, call Patricia at the Balboa Lounge at (501) 922-2909. The Balboa Lounge is located at 111 Balboa Way.

Although the stock market has been less than stellar as of late, real estate appears to be a rock-solid investment. A new report released by the National Association of REALTORS this week shows that home prices continued their seemingly-unstoppable upswing in the fourth quarter of 2015. Meanwhile, mortgage rates have fallen for six consecutive weeks and are approaching their lowest point from last year. Keep reading to learn about the most and least expensive housing markets, why prices just keep rising, and whether mortgage rates will fall any further.