Making sense out of the housing market

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Question 1: What is going to happen to all these homebuyers, including myself, who purchased at the wrong time? What is your take on it? - Dina, Rhode Island

There's no doubt this is a scary time for people who purchased a home in the past couple of years and may have paid top dollar. The good news is if you bought your home with the idea of staying put for awhile, you really don't have much to worry about. Markets, even real estate markets, are cyclical. If prices go down in your area, they will eventually turn higher, unless your local economy is hit by major job losses.

However, if you planned to sell this year or next, you could be in for trouble getting the price you want. You'll need to aggressively market your home and possibly be flexible on the price you're willing to take. You might be best off delaying your move, if you can.

Question 2: I am planning to buy a home this summer. What interest rate should I expect if I have a credit score of 720 and down payment of 20 percent? - Billy

Well, Billy we can't predict what interest rates will be. And if we could, well, we would be lounging somewhere on a tropical island. But, the good news is that 720 is a pretty good score. And economists don't think rates will go anywhere for a while. While it's not perfect credit, you'll likely qualify for good rates and you'll be able to compare offers from a number of lenders.

Remember, lenders really like the fact that you're investing so much cash in the house. It means you have some skin in the game. According to Fair Isaac, your score would give you an interest rate of about 6 percent on a $300,000 30-year fixed mortgage. Keep that score up because if you fall below 700, you'll pay 6.3 percent on that same loan.

Question 3: I recently received an unsolicited refinancing offer. It appeared to be from my mortgage lender, however, the fine print indicates the information was from "an estimated public record source." I consider this an invasion of privacy. How can I block these inquiries? -Mark, North Carolina

It seems like everyone is getting mortgage solicitations in the mail these days. Well, sad to say Mark, but public records are...public.

We checked with the Federal Trade Commission on this one. The worst thing is that you can't do anything about it. Most municipalities have tax records and public documents that are available free to anyone from mortgage companies to your neighbor.

The take away here is that you should be extra cautious with unsolicited offers. Even if something looks authentic, never take any marketing material at face value. And if you have any questions, or you want to verify something, get in touch with your original lender. Rest assured, they don't want your info going to the competition.

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