Thomas in September 2008. Due to the limitations imposed by Minnesota's weather, however, work didn't get underway until May 2009.

A press release from the S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index shows we're still in negative territory. But, things are looking better. In the monthly data, only Seattle and Las Vegas showed monthly declines. Thirteen of the 20 metro areas had three or more consecutive positive returns; and 16 MSAs...