A false bottom?

Is the worst of the housing crisis at hand - or already behind us?

As with other parts of the economy, commentators are eager to call a bottom-or in this case a top-in the housing crisis. And indeed, the latest RealtyTrac numbers show a leveling-off of foreclosure filings for the month of April. RealtyTrac´s number was still the highest since the company began collecting data in January, 2005. The question now is whether the momentum in foreclosures has really eased.

But housing is one area in which the evidence of "green shoots" may end up being too contrived to be meaningful.

Moratoria on foreclosures put in place by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae ended recently, and the Obama administration´s foreclosure prevention plans haven´t quite picked up speed yet. Though other areas of the financial world seem to be regaining some color and glow, it would be safer to conclude that the housing sector still has a long way to go.