Connecting the Dots: How Bad Off Is the Real Estate Market?

Economic signals have been all over the map lately, making it hard to get a handle on what's happening in the housing market and broader economy. Every now and again, it is of value to connect the dots -- the sort of thing U.S. intelligence agencies historically fail to do combating terrorism -- to get a truer picture of the state of the economy and real estate market.

With this in mind, let's look at some of the statistics that emerged in just the past seven days. It's fair to say that, when taken together, any reasonable person would be forced to conclude that the real estate market, despite talk of a budding economic recovery, is still very much in need of emergency care.