Whether you want to believe it or not, more indicators pop up each week that point to improvements in the housing market. Either we're at the bottom now, or we will be soon.

Of course, I just bought my first ever home in September of 2009 (a short-sale in Montgomery County, Md.) so perhaps I'm biased. But even in the worst markets there are signs of life in housing that should encourage investors and homebuyers alike.

Here are three top signs that the housing market has bottomed out.

Pending home sales rose 21.1% in March over 2009 numbers. The big driver was the expiration of the first time home buyer credit. Contracts had to be signed by the end of March to qualify. Nevertheless, these numbers are encouraging.

The National Association of Realtors' (NAT)' index stood at 102.9, up 5.3% It should be noted that pending sales lead existing sales by one to two months.

Separately, the Commerce Department released their numbers on manufactured goods. Excluding defense, factory orders were up 1.3%. Non defense capital goods, excluding aircraft were up 4.5%

There's a whole lot of fuss on Wall Street right now about the impact of a first-time homebuyer credit expiring this week. The $8,000 question? Whether the housing market will continue to improve without the payday, or whether we are in for another round of falling home prices and rising foreclosures.

There's no doubt that 2010 so far has been very profitable for housing stocks. But are those profits going to stick, and is the housing market going to continue to improve?

You'd think that Wall Street would have learned its lesson after the market's crash in 2008 and early 2009. But already investors are returning to short-sighted, self-destructive behavior by chasing fads and forgetting the facts.

Look at the Morgan Stanley U.S. REIT Index (RMZ), for example. It has been flying high even in the face of horrific commercial and residential real estate figures. Since February 9, RMZ is up about 25%. The index has skyrocketed over 150% from its March 2009 low -- about double the gains for the broader market.

The housing market is still in the doldrums. Existing home sales fell .6% in February to an annual rate of 5.02 million, as reported by the National Association of Realtors.

This number is important because existing home sales account for 90% of the market. The Obama administration extended the first-time home buyer program until this June 30 for contracts signed before April 30. So far there has been little or not bump up in sales

Another disheartening statistic is a jump of 9.5% in previously owned homes on the market to 3.59 million. At this rate it would take 8.5 months to sell these homes.

Inflation. The Federal Reserve Chief and the governors believe it to be the worst of all possible scourges for the U.S. economy. The specter of it looms large as the government throws more and more money at problems like unemployment, mortgages, and bank bailouts. It would seem inflation is inevitable as that money sloshes around in the economy, driving up prices for fewer goods as manufacturers slow or stop production due to lack of demand. So what's an investor to do?