Backlog of homes for sale drops again in May

Real estate may finally be finding a bottom as the number of homes listed for sale in 28 major metropolitan areas was down 3.9 percent in May from April, according to data from ZipRealty. Compared with May of 2008 that number is down 24 percent, an even more encouraging sign that we may be climbing out of the deep hole.

The number of homes available for sale was about four million in April, according to the National Association of Realtors, which was down about 11 percent from a year earlier. Yet the exact level of the supply of homes is a bit unclear because the numbers do not include the foreclosed homes that banks are preparing to sell.