You've heard it everywhere. The real estate market is crashing, right?

I say hold on, not so fast. I'm not saying it won't crash, I'm just saying it might not crash as fast as everybody seems to think, or even at all. For more read Will falling energy prices buoy the real estate market? .

Sure mortgage applications are down almost 23% compared to a year ago - but applications are still up almost 5.3% on a week-to-week basis. Ultimately, real estate markets can be largely driven by psychology, and the word has been bad on the street regarding real estate. Nonetheless, energy markets are dropping as gasoline prices quickly slide down towards $2.00.

This reduction in energy prices could lead to increased consumer confidence, which might spur even further mortgage activity, especially if mortgage rates take one last significant dip.