I’ve been working with someone who recently made the comment, “well, with the tax credit now expired I expect interest rates will go down a bit more”.  I have his permission to retell this story … he just didn’t know it’d be the very day after he said it.

Yes, the first-time buyer credit has now expired.  No, the real estate market hasn’t tanked as a result.  And no, you shouldn’t be prepared for interest rates to drop, because they don’t tend to do so during the summer months.  The summer is when people like to drive – a Sunday cruise, or maybe a cross-country trip.  Increased trips means increased gas usage, which means higher prices as retailers take advantage of our need for the wind in our hair … so we’re increasing our oil usage as oil companies are reducing the amount of oil they’re exporting, and voila – an inverse and inflationary reaction in the market.  Interest rates don’t like inflation, and so they climb.

As I said last year about this time …

Buy when you’re ready to buy.  Rates are out of our control as buyers, so when you’re ready to buy, talk to your agent, get preapproved, and start shopping.

Despite what the book you just picked up at the local bookstore (speaking of local bookstores) says there isn’t a game to the system.