Spin, Wishful Thinking, and Delusion:

“Why the Housing Bottom Might Be Here” (US News & World Report)

“U.S. Housing Bottom Seen in Mid-2011: Poll” (Reuters)

“10 Reasons to Be Bullish on Housing” (MarketWatch)

“Now May Be the Time to Buy a Home” (Los Angeles Times)

“Reasons to Expect Real Estate Rebound” (News-Herald)

“Housing to Hit Bottom in Mid-2011 Say Economists” (CNBC)

“Cash Buyers Lift Housing” (Wall Street Journal)

“U.S. Home Prices ‘Bouncing Around’ Bottom, Economist Case Says” (Bloomberg)

“Cramer: Data Shows a Housing Bottom” (The Street)

Reality [italics mine]:

“Housing Crash Is Hitting Cities Thought to Be Stable” (New York Times)

By DAVID SEATTLE — Few believed the housing market here would ever collapse. Now they wonder if it will ever stop slumping.

The rolling real estate crash that ravaged Florida and the Southwest is delivering a new wave of distress to communities once thought to be immune — economically diversified cities where the boom was relatively restrained.

In the last year, Seattle homeowners experienced a bigger price decline than in Las Vegas. Minneapolis dropped more than Miami, and Atlanta fared worse than Phoenix.

The bubble markets, where builders, buyers and banks ran wild, began falling first, economists say, so they are close to the end of the cycle and in some cases on their way back up. Nearly everyone else still has another season of pain.

“When I go out and talk to people around town, they say, ‘Wow, I thought we were going to have a 12 percent correction and call it a day,’ ” said Stan Humphries, chief economist for the housing site Zillow, which is based in Seattle. “But this thing just keeps on going.”

Seattle is down about 31 percent from its mid-2007 peak and, according to Zillow’s calculations, still has as much as 10 percent to fall. Mr. Humphries estimates the rest of the country will drop a further 5 and 7 percent as last year’s tax credits for home buyers continue to wear off.

“We went into 2010 feeling gangbusters, thanks to Uncle Sam,” Mr. Humphries said. “We ended it feeling penniless, with home values tanking.”