RJ and Makay

It may be quite some time before the housing market fully recovers, suggest new data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell dramatically in February and home prices declined to their lowest level in nearly nine years, the data show.

Specifically, February sales fell 9.6% month over month to an annualized rate of 4.88 million units after three straight months of gains. The percentage decline was the largest since July. "The housing market is still very depressed and a major drag on the economy, especially household net worth," observes Chris Christopher, a senior economist at IHS Global Insight.