Interest Rates - Buy Now?

[Ben Lod]

Very very new potential investor here, just started listening to the podcasts.  (Which are amazing by the way.)

I'm thinking about buying my first multi-family investment property, but I have also considered waiting for the market to cool down. Most real estate agents I know tell me this "up" cycle will end in 12 months to 24 months and we may see anywhere from a 10% to 20% correction. This is a little off putting to anyone thinking about buying, but I also need to consider interest rates. 

30 yr FRM's are currently in the mid 4's and will only go higher. But how much higher? In the 80's and 90's 30 year fixed rate mortgages were in excess of 10%. Between 2000 and 2008, 5% - 7% was pretty common. 

On a $100,000.00 loan amount. The difference in monthly payment between 4.5% and 7% is $158.00 per month. 

Most of the properties I'm looking at purchasing are in the 200k to 400k ball park, which would mean a monthly payment increase from $316.00 to $632.00 per month. This increase will make it MUCH harder to find and buy positive cash flow producing assets.

My questions for the community:

1. How high will mortgage rates go?

2. Should I buy now or wait to buy? Some people on the Bigger Pockets Podcast are talking about selling properties and holding on to the cash in preparation to buy later. Is this smart?

Thanks for your feedback.

[Russell Brazil]

A 20% correction would be nearly twice as bad as the housing collapse from a decade ago. I can not predict the future, but....that has no chance of happening.