Passing through the Fort Myers, Fla., airport a few weeks ago, I noticed people eagerly signing up for a free bus tour of foreclosed real?estate — with all properties offering water views. During the ride to my hotel, the young driver volunteered that he’d just bought his first house, paying $65,000 for a foreclosed?property in nearby Cape Coral that had last sold for over $250,000. He said he’d never expected to be able to buy anything on a driver’s salary, let alone something that nice.

Last week, Standard & Poor’s reported that its S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price index of real estate values increased this past quarter over the first quarter of 2009, the first quarter-on-quarter increase in three years. Its index of 20 major cities also rose for the three months ended June 30 over the three months ended May 31, with only hard-hit Detroit and Las Vegas experiencing declines. The week before that, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales volume of existing homes was up 7.2% in July from June.

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