'Shark Tank' investor Barbara Corcoran offers housing market advice as buying conditions ease

• The time to buy a house is now, "Shark Tank" investor Barbara Corcoran said.
• That's because as mortgage rates drop, housing demand will surge, driving prices up.

The housing market is beginning to ease, but "Shark Tank" star Barbara Corcoran maintains that waiting for a better deal would be a mistake.

That was her stance even before mortgage rates sank, and as they have tumbled from October's high of 8%, she warned a big price swing may be ahead.

Here's some advice from the real estate expert about buying a home as the housing market reaches an inflection point.

Now is the time to buy

As rates tumble, housing is becoming more affordable, but Corcoran said buyers shouldn't try to wait out the market.

"It's a good time to buy," she said in an ABC News interview earlier this month. "Things aren't going to get any better for homebuyers. If interest rates continue to come down — as they will and as everyone's expecting it — prices will go up."

The logic behind that goes like this: The minute a reasonable rate threshold is reached for enough people, demand for homes will surge. And as demand surges, so will the price.

"The whole world's going to be out there competing with you," she added. "You'll be paying more for your home."

Find a great broker and get pre-qualified

New homeowners may want to wait for the sweetest deal they can get, but Corcoran added that her mantra holds true even for first-time buyers.

"Find yourself a great broker who knows how to hustle, because there's always a deal to be had," she said in the ABC News interview. "No exceptions."

She added that new homebuyers should also get pre-qualified for their home loans, giving them a readily available source of cash.

"You're on equal footing with everybody else," she said.

Buy a second home, if you can

Corcoran was also asked if it's smarter to sell an existing home to buy a new one, or if it's better to buy a second home and rent out the first one.

For those buyers who have paid off their mortgages, she recommended holding onto that existing house and renting it out, while buying a second home.

"It becomes a cash machine going forward," she said. "You get an investment property that the tenant's paying for and you go out and buy a new home by putting a second mortgage on your house."

Rates aren't that high

Mortgage rates could drop to 6%, Corcoran said. But regardless of the drop, current rates are not all that bad if you take a look at history.

"Interest rates are not high," she said. "The average in the last 50 years in America has been higher: 7.78%. We're lower than that now. So everybody is dreaming about 2 and 3% interest rates. That's never going to happen. But you've got to appreciate that if you buy now, it's to your advantage."