New home sales are way down and the number of existing homes on the marketplace is increasing. There’s more than one or two “For Sale” signs in most neighborhoods.

It’s a buyer’s market. Sure, the mortgage rates have gone up a point or so from their lower rates of last year but this fact has caused sellers to realize that with less attractive mortgage rates, the price on the house has to be attractive. House prices are falling with every month they go unsold.

And let’s face it, you can always refinance another day, when the rates are lower – but there’s nothing you can do about paying too much for your house.

There are a lot of voices telling you to wait, prices will come down more. While this may be true for a while, it won’t be true forever. Still, take your time in deciding on a purchase. There are lots of homes to choose from. Pick your lender carefully and make the best deal you can.

In a slower market with prices coming down and rates going up, you probably won’t be able to purchase your home and then turn around and sell next year at a profit, but wait 5 years and you will probably do fine.

It can be a sound idea to transfer balances from credit cards with high rates to a new card that offers a super-low rate on balances transferred from other accounts. But make sure you understand what to look for.

Pay attention to how long the initial rate lasts. Be aware that not everyone will qualify for the lowest rate advertised and your introductory rate could be higher. Know what the regular rate will be once the introductory rate period is over and if that low rate will apply to new purchases as well or only to the balance transfers.

Is the special rate for initial transfers only? If this is the case, then only the accounts specified when you first apply for the card qualify for the special low-rate and subsequent transfers may be treated as cash advances – in which case you could pay a hefty cash advance fee and a higher rate of interest.

Check into the late-payment and over-limit fees. Will a late payment cancel the low-rate and make your balances subject to a higher interest rate? Some card companies will raise your rate even if you are late making payments on another credit card account.

If you do transfer balances to a new card, avoid the danger of late-payment fees on the old account by continuing to pay on the old account until you have proof it is at a zero balance. Then you may cancel it and close the account.

You may already have a mortgage and have no difficulty making the payments but the lure of some extra cash makes the thought of refinancing an appealing one. A lender tells you how you can get the equity in your home working for you through refinancing and borrow a little extra for your immediate needs or desires.

After you have made a few payments, the lender offers you a bigger loan for some other expenditure, such as home improvement or a vacation. If you agree, your loan is again refinanced into a new loan and the lender loans you more money. This is called loan-flipping. Every time the lender refinances the loan, the lender charges points and fees and your interest rate may increase.

Your debt increases and is stretched out over a longer period of time. The extra cash you receive could be more than offset by the fees you are charged for refinancing. You will also be paying interest on those extra fees. In the end you could end up owing more than you can afford and lose your home.

As expected, the Federal Reserve opted not to raise interest rates hoping to keep inflation down in the flagging economy. The FOMC has announced it will keep its Federal Funds rate target at 5.25 percent.

The statement released today indicated that this was a pause rather than a halt in rate hikes and expressed the opinion that inflation pressures may moderate over time thus implying that rate hikes in the future cannot be ruled out.

The pause by the Fed was not unexpected by investors, although the possibility of future rate increases was disappointing and stocks slipped after the announcement.