Realtors expressed overall confidence in the market and seasonal gains in home sales numbers over the next six months, but they also expressed concerns over the regulatory environment and buyers' access to credit, according to the latest member survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors. The survey also polled members on buyers' credit scores, down payments, days-on-market, and failed transactions.

After observing a """"first in, first out"""" recovery over the past year in which markets hardest hit during the crisis experienced the fastest recoveries, Clear Capital is now examining whether the housing market, in fact, follows the allegory of """"The Tortoise and the Hare."""" In this analogy, the company points to Phoenix as an obvious hare in the recent recovery, and Denver as a tortoise. Looking at the two, it appears slow and steady wins the race after all.

A new index from the National Association of Home Builders and First American tracks more than 350 metro markets across the country to assess individual performance based on pre-crisis norms in terms of housing permits, prices, and employment. Currently, the index shows 56 markets have returned to their pre-housing crisis """"norms"""" and more than 35 percent are at least 90 percent recovered.