There's no question that housing prices have everyone's attention at a national level. And given the latest Case-Schiller index numbers -- which found continued price declines in almost every major national market -- it's hard to be too bullish on the state of the housing market nationally.

But can we be bullish on the Bull City? There's mixed signals in the marketplace, but at least one local Realtor found the following intriguing data last week out of the Triangle Multiple Listing Service. How is the sales volume, at least, matching up with the conventional wisdom that it typically takes six months to sell a house in Durham?

In Durham County as of about an hour ago, 2,260 homer were listed for sale in the Triangle Multiple Listing Service [MLS]. By comparison, 394 homes were sold in Durham County during May 2008. 2,260 divided by 394 tells us that it would take 5.7 months to sell through the current inventory. The Durham housing market as a whole is in balance. In the 27713 zipcode, which is south Durham very loosely based around Southpoint Mall 435 homes were listed as of yesterday, June 7. 135 homes sold in the area during May, which means there is currently only 3.2 months of inventory available.... [I]t is just one more sign that the Durham housing market is relatively stable, especially when compared to the markets constantly mentioned in the media.

Read more over at Bull City Real Estate.