Last week's reports showed the progress of the housing market recovery is definitely on a zigzag trajectory.
Zigging upward were new home sales, UP a strong 11.1% in March, hitting the 300,000 threshold annual rate. The supply of new homes dropped to 7.3 months and the inventory fell again, to its lowest level since 1967.
Also zigging UP 5.1% were March Pending Home Sales, which measure contracts on existing homes and point to continued gains in existing home sales come April and May.
But the path to progress in the housing market recovery zagged downward in the pricing area.
The FHFA index of prices for homes financed with conforming mortgages slipped 1.6% in February.
The Case-Shiller index of home prices in the top 20 metro areas dropped 0.2% for February (seasonally adjusted). But observers were expecting a bigger decline.
The good news for buyers is that home prices are now down to 2004 levels and there are phenomenal deals to be had in many markets.
From my weekly enewsletter INSIDE LENDING for Real Estate Pros, Week of May 2, 2011
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