If you were waiting for some good news to indicate that the housing market has made a turnaround and the related exchange traded funds (ETFs) would soon be ripe for the picking, you’ll have to keep waiting.

That’s because home prices extended their decline in April, this time with every major metropolitan area posting annual losses - some even showing declines in the double digits, reports Lynn Adler for Reuters.

The S&P/Case Shiller index of 20 metro areas fell 1.4% in April from March, and dropped 15.3% year-over-year.

Oh, you want some good news? The month-to-month decline was the smallest since the August-September 2007 period. Happy?

Not surprisingly, consumer confidence continues to take a beating. This month, it has fallen to its lowest point in 16 years, says Burton Frierson for Reuters.

The Federal Reserve meets today and tomorrow - will Bernanke & Co. do anything to help right this dismal situation? All eyes are on them.

ETFs currently hurting in the housing crisis include:

• iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index Fund (ICF), down 0.8% year-to-date
• iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index Fund (IYR), down 2.6% year-to-date
• Vanguard REIT Vipers (VNQ), down 0.6% year-to-date

Tags | Federal Reserve, Real Estate, Retail & Consumer