Among the latest mixed bag of housing data:

• Commerce Department: New home sales rose 14.8% from March and are up 47.8% compared with a year ago. Median sales prices are down 9.5% in the past year to $198,400. Housing starts rose 5.8% from March, but building permits fell 11.5%.
• Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller: Home prices fell 3.2% in the first quarter of 2010 from the previous quarter, but rose 2.3% from last year.
• National Association of Realtors: Existing home sales rose 7.6% from March and are up 22.8% from 2009.
• Federal Housing Finance Agency: House prices fell 1.9% in the first quarter of 2010 from the prior quarter, and are down 3.1% for the year.

Whatever you make of all this housing data, one thing is clear.

How much your home is worth is not based on what economists say or how much you put into it; it’s purely based on what someone else is willing to pay for it.

The best way to calculate your home’s market value is to compare it to similar homes in your neighborhood that are sold now. With time, value changes, so your market value may vary at any given time.

If you’re selling your home, learn how to calculate your market value and set a reasonable price for your market with FrontDoor’s Pricing Guide:

FrontDoor.com/pricing

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I caught up with Robert Shiller (of the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices) at the “Distressed Real Estate Summit” in New York City, where he shared his insight with more than 700 real estate developers, investors and other professionals. Hear what he has to say:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Shiller told attendees that current government efforts seem “like a big bailout,” and rather, we should focus on setting up “the framework for new economic systems” and “create a liquid market for real estate.”

Shiller is founder and chief economist of investment management firm MacroMarkets and co-developed the methodology behind the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, which track changes in home prices in 20 metropolitan regions across the United States. Each month, investors look to the data for insight into the housing market.

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