It was almost hard to pick a topic this week, since - take this as good or bad news - the stock market isn’t leaning wildly in one direction or the other today.  However, the main headline of the moment definitely relates to the reduced inventory of unsold houses.

Rex Nutting reports, “The inventory of unsold homes fell a record 7.3% in September to 394,000, the lowest level in four years.  In the past year, inventories have fallen 25.4%, the biggest percentage drop since the government began tracking the data in 1963.”

Also, “In the past year, the number of homes for sale that were under construction has plunged by 35%.”

Unfortunately, it’s much too soon to call the housing crisis over.  There still appears to be more than a ten-month supply of homes on the market, which would be enough to keep buyers busy for a while.  And even the good news depends on the Commerce Department’s numbers being reliable, which may not be the case.