If you listed a home for sale in the last few months, you may have been pleasantly surprised.
Demand has been robust, and stories abound of houses selling for well above their asking price. In states like Florida that were especially hard hit by the housing collapse, prices in some markets are up double digits from a year earlier.
(Read more: Real estate recovery watch map)
And when mortgage rates began their sharp rise several weeks ago, demand initially rose as buyers—apparently worried about locking in rates before they moved higher—rushed to sign deals.
(Read more: Buyers ignore surging rates, send mortgage apps higher)
But logic suggests that that particular party can't last. In fact, mortgage applications slipped for the week ended July 12, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.
(Read more: US mortgage applications slip anew)
Meanwhile, a recent survey by Trulia found a of consumers said they would be discouraged from buying a home if interest rates rose above 5 percent.
All of which raises some tough questions for many homeowners: Should you rush to sell your house now, even as the summer doldrums approach? Or with the economy and the job market apparently on the mend, is it better to wait for the moderate pickup in activity that usually surfaces in the fall?