My own view is that it's too soon to tell. The past few months have seen stabilization and even an uptick in sales. That's good, and in normal times, that would be enough to suggest a trend.

But the jury's still out on so much. Home sales are being driven by the first-time buyer, who's getting a whopping $8k tax credit. It expires November 30. Two questions, then: Is this taxpayer-backed incentive supplanting pent-up demand? Will the tax credit be extended?

There are other questions galore. Check out this article from the Economist Magazine.