We didn't feel anything or see any of the ghosts, shadows etc, but did see the machines spike a few times that others were using.

Queens is now seeing a big spike because Brooklyn is so expensive.

An investor friend of mine recently was sharing with me that the prices in every area in Dallas County went up so much, that now even the low income areas are seeing a spike in prices.One thing to consider are blue collar neighborhoods.

Could spike today and totally crash tomorrow.

Electric can also spike in the summer with A/C.

The number(s) used to call (especially if it's by a service) may have been marked as “Spam Risk” by the telephone company’s algorithm (e.g, 100s of calls in 1 hour either in spikes or consistently, recipients reporting it).

I am sure everyone has their take on a pre-approval, my take is a pre-approval is only as good as the loan officer especially when it is issued purely from the loan officer's opinion.Nowadays with a more purchase centric market since refi's have cooled off from may 2013 rate spikes banks are issuing fully underwritten TBD credit approvals which are a different animal.

Interest Rates:  I think just because we are seeing tapering doesn't mean rates are going to spike.  

I lucked out because here in Alberta we just had that kind of spike happen in the market.

I do not think Coastal CA home prices could withstand a 5% interest rate very well, rates will have to stay below say 4.25% for a long time or there could be problems (unless of course incomes start spiking upwards).