<a href="http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/HomebuyingGuide/HomePriceReport.aspx">No end to housing slump in sight</a>
When will the slump end?
"Observers of the housing market are extremely cautious about predicting when it might hit bottom. They cite several reasons for their caution, including falling prices in many -- but not all -- markets, an oversupply of new homes and condos, the rising cost of money and the shrinking of easy credit due to the imploding subprime lending market.
<p>Leo Kamp, the head of investment strategy at TIAA-CREF, doesn't expect home prices or sales to start picking up until next year. Other analysts expect a turnaround to take even longer. Kamp urges consumers to examine the federal government's latest housing figures for their own local and regional markets because the numbers vary widely.</p>
<p>In some markets -- Florida, parts of California, Las Vegas, parts of New England and the Boston-New York-Washington corridor -- prices became so inflated in recent years that homes grew unattainable, causing a severe slowdown in sales and a backlog of available houses."</p>