New Home Construction Up 17 Percent in May

At this point, any glimmer of hope that the housing market may have reached rock bottom and is starting to climb is going to be grabbed with a mighty kung fu grip. With the economy at large still slumping and home prices still falling in most parts of the country, most economists don't see any real hope for a realistic turnaround until mid-to-late 2010. For some of the hardest hit areas, that sounds like an eternity, while other areas are simply happy that things have stopped free-falling, if only for a moment.

The housing market is still absorbing a large number of foreclosures, which eventually become distressed, under-market homes for sale. This additional, under-market inventory keeps a downward pressure on home prices in general and often makes new home construction impossible from a financial standpoint.

President Obama is planning to announce initiatives designed to place greater oversight on the financial and lending industries in the U.S. It's unclear exactly what measures the administration is going to propose, but it would seem that the appointment of any new "czars" might be a bit of overkill. How many czars can one administration appoint?

One of the more interesting aspects of watching the housing bubble burst and its aftermath, is that the media will largely determine when a recovery begins to occur. Not intentionally, of course, but as soon as the media tells main street America that it's safe to buy real estate, there will be a wave of buyers eating through all of the inventory, driving prices back up and we'll be right back on the roller coaster. Good times are ahead!