Real estate and home builder exchange traded funds (ETFs) are mostly higher this morning, even after foreclosures shot higher in April.

The number of U.S. homeowners falling behind on their mortgage payments rose 65% last month over the same month last year, which sent home values down even further, reports Alex Veiga for the Associated Press. One in every 519 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing, and they increased in all but eight states.

Several real estate and homebuilder ETFs were trading higher - perhaps investors think this might be as bad as it gets? As eager as we all may be for a turnaround, we suggest sitting back and waiting for any uptrend to be on more solid footing and crosses the 200-day moving average. Trying to call the bottom can be a losing battle.

Among the related ETFs:

• iShares FTSE NAREIT Real Estate 50 Index (FTY), up 8.1% year-to-date
• First Trust S&P REIT Fund (FRI), up 8.6% year-to-date
• DJ Wilshire REIT (RWR), up 10.1% year-to-date
• SPDR S&P Homebuilders (XHB), up 10% year-to-date

Inflation in April eased up some, but food prices experienced their biggest jump in 18 years, reports Martin Crutsinger for the Associated Press. Consumer prices rose 0.2% in April, compared to a 0.3% rise in March. Energy delivered a flat reading, which helped offset a 0.9% rise in food prices across the board.

Among the agriculture ETFs, which are mostly static in early trading:

• Market Vectors Global Agribusiness (MOO), up 7.5% year-to-date
• PowerShares DB Agriculture (DBA), up 11.2% year-to-date
• iPath Dow Jones Agriculture (JJA), up 6.6% year-to-date

Tags | Agriculture, DBA, Energy, Homebuilders, Real Estate, Retail & Consumer