Despite global economic turmoil last fall, the housing market continued to show stability, continuing a pattern that began in mid- 2009 after the credit crunch began. The S&P’s downgrade of US debt, paired with the European debt crisis, Wall Street bonus concerns, and large swings in the stock market indices all contributed to the market’s slowed pace leading into the first quarter. As a result, the number of sales slipped 3.5% to 2,311 from 2,394 in the prior year quarter. However, sales levels began to rise during the middle of the first quarter…