The rate (on the primary) had a lot of volatility over the three weeks when I was closing so I get that, but 5% sounds high on a multiplex.

When one considers there were only 17 trading days in the previous fifty years when the S&P rose or fell more than 5% in a day, then I think you can appreciate the unprecedented volatility we have experienced!

I still believe there is a good chance of enjoying one, maybe two, positive quarters later this year or early next; however, a crisis of this magnitude doesn't suddenly fade into obscurity, just because the economy no longer shrinks at an annual rate of 6-8%.Going forward, not only will economic growth disappoint, but the economic cycles will become more volatile again (see chart 1) with several boom/bust cycles packed into the next couple of decades.

The health of the GSEs reflect the US housing financial health and I see no reason why, with their 'new' book of business, they can't handle a correction (rate volatility, lower origination volumes, etc.) even a prolonged correction.

You may see people getting more nervous especially since the market has been red hot, Dow hitting 20,000 and articles being written which predict that market is now overvalued or volatility index hitting high levels. 

and that's fair....something I don’t have to worry about quite as much since appreciation in the rural Midwest is not nearly as volatile as it in in your area.

Small percentages are so volatile in the equity department if your homes are in the beach area.

Crunch your numbers for several different scenarios to assess how volatile a deal might be. 

My market here in Cleveland tends to lag behind the rest of the country and the swings are not as volatile so prices are still 40-60% below the highs of 2007.As a buy and hold investor looking 30 years into the future - does it make sense to keep these assets until I retire our should I sell them if the market here goes back up in 5-10 years.Example - the house I picked up in a Cleveland suburb for 50K sold for 120K in 2006 - if the market reaches this level should you always sell if you are looking long term.

If you are still buying, volatility is a good thing, because you get the benefit of dollar cost averaging.Sooo many people follow the media hype about what the stock market did on one day and they act like it means something dramatic.