The spell is broken: mortgage rates are back on a steady rise. As you can see from just the past few weeks, this rise has felt like a portend of doom for homebuyers and investors alike. But hey, no need to panic! Like us, you should focus on reading the signs and making smart decisions regardless of the market climate.

Did you know that—despite, or perhaps because of the rollercoaster the real estate market has been on in the last year or so—the average home buyer takes about eight weeks to find a home to buy?