If there was one chart that shows best what is happening with the bifurcated US housing market, it is this NAR breakdown [4]of sales by pricing bucket. It shows beyond a doubt that courtesy of the Fed's policies there is not one but two housing markets in the US: that for the 1%, or those who purchase mostly homes in the top price buckets ($500 and certainly above), and that for everyone else. Guess where the bulk of the activity (i.e. flipping) is, and worse for the so-called recovery, where it isn't.
[5]
The logical follow up question: what percentage of total sales fall in any given price bucket? Here is the answer [6].
[7]
So 4.5% of the total US housing market, that costing over $750K is seeing a pick up in activity. The remaining, and cheaper, 95.5%: not so much.
Preemptive spin attempt warning: harsh snow in the winter fell only over houses that cost $500K or less.