Like the sun coming out after weeks of clouds and snow, real estate buyers are making their presence known in Ridgfield.

In the five weeks since New Years, I have seen more buyers interested in making a move than I had in the last several months. The market is heating up, and it is fueled by pent-up demand and the homebuyer tax credit. Spring is our busiest season and, this year, spring is coming early to Ridgefield real estate.

In the past three months, 55 single family homes have sold in town (versus only 30 in the same period a year ago!) and 82 percent of those sales were under $800,000.  The homebuyer credit is having a significant effect on activity, driving this market segment to markedly outperform higher-priced homes. Within the next few months, this should trickle up and spur sales of luxury homes as well. The homebuyer credit expires in three months, and nobody can say whether it will be extended or not. My guess is that this time it will expire for good.

New inventory in Ridgefield's under $800,000 segement, however, is lagging behind its buyers. New listings have been slow to pick up—slower than expected. Many sellers are waiting for "the spring" to put their houses on the market. But the spring selling season is NOW. Homeowners serious about selling their house in 2010 should waste no time in getting it listed with an agent. National real estate news is generally mixed, and no can predict for sure if we are at the market's pricing bottom. But before prices level off or turn higher, we need buyers to enter the market, and they have arrived.

On another note, The Fed has enacted new mortgage disclosure rules that became effective on Jan. 1. The new rules require mortgage lenders to use easier-to-understand forms to help consumers better understand the terms of a mortgage. These new forms will make it easier to comparison shop amongst the many lenders serving Ridgefield.  The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that  the average homebuyer will save $700 as a direct result of these changes.

Rob Gutman is a real estate agent at Keller Williams Realty and also writes the blog Real Estate Chocolate.  You can contact him directly at rgutman@gmail.com.