RealEstateMarket

Houses are cheap. Interest rates are low. And the economy is improving. Even Warren Buffett says that housing might be the best investment today. So should you run out and buy a home? Not necessarily.

Home prices rose in March from February in most major U.S. cities for the first time in seven months. The increase is the latest evidence of a slow recovery taking shape in the troubled housing market.

A new survey shows economists are growing slightly more optimistic about recovery in the job and housing markets but expect other pillars of the economy to remain weak.

Home prices dropped in February in most major U.S. cities for a sixth straight month, a sign that modest sales gains haven't been enough to boost prices, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Index.

Home prices fell in January for a fifth straight month in most major U.S. cities, as modest sales increases have yet to boost prices. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price index released Tuesday showed that prices dropped in January from December in 16 of 19 cities tracked.

Sales of U.S. new homes fell in February for the second straight month, a reminder that the depressed housing market remains weak despite some improvement. But the Commerce Department also reported some positive signs.

U.S. home prices fell for a third straight month in nearly all cities tracked by a major index. The declines show that most homeowners are not reaping the benefits from some signs of an improving housing market. Prices dropped in November from October in 19 of the 20 cities tracked, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price index released Tuesday.

Fewer people bought new homes in December, making 2011 the worst sales year on record. The Commerce Department said Thursday new-home sales fell last month to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 307,000. The pace is less than half the 700,000 that economists say must be sold in a healthy economy.

It has been a rough few years for homeowners, and an even worse time for real estate developers. But in a small encouraging sign, luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers is acquiring Seattle-based CamWest Development.

Americans' economic health appears to be edging closer to code red: The Consumer Distress Index fell sharply in the third quarter, indicating that more of us are falling behind financially.