If there is one thing about mortgage interest rates and interest rates in general, there is certainly no sure thing any more. I was recently at an economic presentation put on by Wells Fargo. The speaker was Ronald Florence, who is an economist and investments expert.  The general consensus of his talk was that we are at zero or the lowest in terms of interest rates and there is only one way from here — UP.  The key is how much UP, when, and how fast. No one knows.

If you read the popular press like The Wall Street Journal, CNNMoney, CNBC.com, Financial Times, or any other legitimate financial reporting publication, you will see articles daily that contradict the reporting the day before. They don’t know either.  There is one word to describe what is going on — VOLATILITY.  Market makers, traders, stock brokers, and economists are either waking up in a good mood or a bad mood depending on what is going in the world. There are concerns over European debt, American debt, North Korea, bombings, wars and general heart burn or sometimes cold sweats about social security and taxes.  These all change the stock and bond market positively or negatively depending on the day.  As a result, interest rates change for all types of loans including mortgages on a daily basis.

What can John/Jane Doe buyer of real estate do about it? Stop thinking you are an arm chair economist. Stop trying to predict the bottom.  Rates are in record territory and the only thing one can do now is lock in or watch them rise.  In terms of home prices, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, and California I believe still have room to go down further. Maybe an additional 15 to 20%.  The middle states may be at a soft bottom to another 10% down.  Most investors… whether it be stocks or real estate, don’t know when to buy until it is too late. In other words, they buy on the up swing.

Buying on the down swing is not bad… Unless you are premature. But I think it is safe to say that the notion of premature is behind us.  There may be some more depreciation in both stocks and real estate, but we are close to the bottom if not already there in some areas. The time to act is now.

Lock in your investment. Lock in your future.