"But roughly six years after the housing market began its longest and deepest slide since the Great Depression, a growing number of experts and people who actually put money into housing believe the end has come. "
              
"The trend is clear in the data. The widely respected S.&P./Case-Shiller index reported earlier this week that sales prices for existing homes rose in April for the first time this year. Several other measures, including a seasonally adjusted version of the index, show that price increases began in February. The pace of housing construction has increased. And the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that pending home sales climbed to the highest level since the end of a federal tax credit for first-time buyers in September 2010. "

The population has continued to grow while few new homes have been built.   Basic indicators of market health that bulged during the bubble, like the ratio of housing prices to income, have returned to more normal levels.
      
“All bets are off if anything happens to the economy, but apart from that, I think the fundamentals look better than they’ve looked in 17 or 18 years,” said Richard K. Green, a professor of real estate at the University of Southern California.

The number of homes for sale has been falling for more than a year, according to the National Association of Realtors. Some owners are waiting for prices to rise; some of them must wait because they are underwater.  Mr. Niece, a Minnesota real estate agent, said he and his partner had seen their book of listings decline from about 120 properties to 70 properties, about 45 of which already are under contract.  “I have buyers every single day complaining that they can’t find houses,” he said.

Go and read the entire article, but the points are clear.  Prices are down but stabilized; Interest rates are lower than anyone can remember; Inventory is low; Buyer demand is rising.

 We need listings!