Housing prices have dropped to nine year lows in most major cities according to last weeks' S&P/Case-Shiller home price index. Over 2 million homes are in foreclosure. What do you think? Listener, Monty says: "We're on the verge of buying a house, but now we're really reluctant." Linda says, "I'm 64 years old and I have rented my whole life. If the hot water tank goes out, the landlady takes care of it, if a tree hits the roof, the landlady takes care of it, I like it like that."

Found your dream home out in the suburbs at a fantastic price?  Well, it may not be as cheap as you think.  According to a new study released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, when you factor in the costs of transportation, only 1/3 of America's neighborhoods are actually considered affordable. (You can look up your own neighborhood in the just-released Housing + Transportation Affordability Index.)

Some indicators say the U.S. economy is pulling out of its tailspin, but as winter approaches, the number of people who have lost their homes is on the rise. Libby Hayes, executive director of Homes for Families in Boston, says homelessness is a lagging indicator. The economy might be improving, but jobs haven't come back, yet. We're joined by Vannessa LaBarca and James Foresteire, both homeless and having trouble finding work. Steve Berg, from the National Alliance to End Homelessness, says the Obama administration's relief plan is starting to trickle down to families, but it will be a slow process.

The National Association of Realtors will release their numbers on pending home sales later this morning; those numbers are predicted to be up for the sixth consecutive month. Louise Story, The New York Times reporter, explains the report.

Even for people who work in the real estate markets every day it is hard to tell what way the housing market is heading. New-home construction held steady at almost 11 percent in March, according to government data released yesterday. But foreclosures are up, with nearly 804,000 homes getting a notice in just the first three months of this year. That's a 24 percent increase compared to the same time last year. But other analysts are seeing hope and some first time homebuyers are finding themselves in great positions to buy.

To help us parse the numbers we turned to two experts: Behrooz Shahidi, a realtor in New Jersey, and Michael Corkery, housing reporter for The Wall Street Journal.