Interest rates have risen  about 1% in the past few months and most folks who were going to refinance have done so.  So the banks still need to make money, so will need to increase loan originations.  To do so, those lenders could ease credit standards away from over-stringent ones to ensure the greatest number of qualified buyers to have access to mortgage interest.  Tell your clients rising interest rates are not necessarily bad news  for real estate if rising interest rates are balanced with OPENING CREDIT TO MORE CUSTOMERS.  We’re hopeful – and it’s more than a glimmer – that if the economy can recover as much as it has under tight credit conditions, it may do even better as credit steadily returns to normal.  All of this from NAR (National Association of Realtors) president, Gary Thomas.