Homebuyers Take Note: Mortgage Elevator Is Going Up

Consider this the "snap out of it" slap that Cher gave Nic Cage in "Moonstruck." If you're in the market for a house, you need to buy it while the interest rates are low -- and by the way, those rates crept up a bit already this week.

Purchase price? Feh. When it comes to how much house you can afford, the number that really matters -- unless you live in the rarified world of cash buyers -- is what interest rate you can get. And the bad news, for those of you who thought you could wait it out until some expert told you the housing market elevator had reached the bottom floor, is that the real elevator is heading back up -- and that's the elevator of interest rates, not home prices.