Housing Outlook

Foreclosure sales, short sales and first-time homebuyers taking advantage of tax credits is purely illusionary and hides the underlying problems of lending and inventory," says Anthony Sanders, a finance professor at George Mason University's Hall School of Management. "Plus, the jumbo and non-first-time market has to show volume."

The spring sales bump many had hoped for didn't materialize. According to the National Association of Realtors, pending sales activity only climbed 0.1% from April to May--not exactly a market rally.

There are too many sales in markets that are affordable to first-time buyers, driven by foreclosures and short sales, and too few sales in expensive parts of town thanks to a lack of financing and the impression that prices are coming down.

In neighborhoods rich and poor alike, it's going to be a long summer--with no sign of recovery on the horizon. "

and is right on with market trends and the abandonments found all over the country.