PHOENIX -- A national mortgage expert said Arizona's housing market will get worse before it gets better.

"I don't think we're anywhere near bottom yet," Anthony Sanders said.

The ASU professor is one of a handful of experts testifying before Congress on the financial crisis.

During the past few months, he's advised congressional and administrative leaders about bailing out banks and creating loan modification programs.

Sanders said another wave of adjustable rate mortgages are scheduled to re-adjust next year.

"Phoenix is an ARM capital," Sanders said.

"The vast majority of mortgages in Phoenix are adjustable rates. These are all going to be re-setting in 2010," he said.

Those adjustments will create higher payments for homeowners at a time when many will not be able to pay more to job loss and other recession related problems.

Phoenix mortgage banker Jeff Underwood thinks the housing market is closer to recovery.

"There are going to be areas where it will be worse," Underwood said.

He said homeowners on the outskirts of Phoenix, where many people have sub-prime loans, will see more foreclosures.

However, Underwood believes the bottom of the market is near, or already here. He said buyers should start shopping.

"This is the time to take advantage of a great bargain on a house," he said.

Underwood also said low interest rates mean many homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages will not see dramatic increases in their payments next year.

"Many people will be surprised to see that they may not see an increase in their rate at all," he said.

Both Underwood and Sanders agree the housing market will not recover until the recession ends.

Sanders say the nation's economy should show signs or recovery in 2011.

He and Underwood also say few Arizona homeowners be eligible for mortgage loans modifications.

Many homeowners here have sub-prime loans that will not qualify for government assistance.