Jobless Claims a Kill-Joy for Housing Progress 

First time claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 12,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 631,000 in the week ending May 2, according to the Labor Department, dampening signs of improvement seen in some housing markets. “In many markets we’ve seen signs you’d expect to see not long before prices would normally stabilize: robust investor and first-time-buyer activity, 10-plus months of year-over-year sales gains, and less price erosion, if any,” says John Walsh, MDA DataQuick president, speaking of the California housing market.