If you don't like latest housing data, wait a few minutes. Things will change.

With a new real estate report coming nearly daily - and some showing conflicting results - data and builder stocks are on a roller coaster.

Take this week, for example.

Wednesday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported home prices rose 0.7% from January to February, the second straight monthly gain. Builder stocks jumped.

Then Thursday, builders gained at the open, following cheery numbers from the February 2009 RPX Monthly Housing Market Report. It revealed that home sales increased on a month-over-month basis in 22 of 25 covered metropolitan statistical areas, and 13 of those areas posted their largest sales increases in February since 2006.

But then the stocks fell on news from the National Association of Realtors: Existing-home sales dropped in March, while the median price was shaved 12% from a year earlier.

Months' supply increased to 9.8 in March, which was "likely understated and to rise further in coming months," Credit Suisse pointed out in an analyst note.

Those results came as First American CoreLogic said national housing prices tumbled 12.2% in February from a year ago and have declined for 24 straight months.

"We expect home prices to continue to decline into 2010 as economic conditions and excess housing inventories dampen prices," noted Mark Fleming, the firm's chief economist.

Remember real estate is local, and some markets are healing as falling prices lure buyers to the closing table.

"It's very difficult to paint a national picture other than statistical information," said Sherry Chris, president and chief executive of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC. "Does that tell you everything you need to know? There's no such thing as a national temperature, so to speak, in anything."

Plus, each report aims for its own niche. The monthly FHFA information, for example, is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae (FNM) or Freddie Mac (FRE). First American says it issues a repeat-sales index tracking increases and decreases in sales prices for the same homes over time.

But such nuances don't seem to matter to many real estate investors who make decisions based on tone. Was the report good or bad?

Such a strong reaction to what could normally be a "shrug-of-the-shoulders data point" could be short interest, said Rob Stevenson, an analyst with Fox-Pitt Kelton.

If the numbers are good, the initial pop in the stock tends to be followed by a short covering, which drives the price up more meaningfully. Alternatively, shorts may view negative datapoints as additional proof things aren't getting any better, he said.

That provides them with ammunition to short the names again, leaving these stocks in what has become a normal depressed state.

Indeed, with two seemingly negative reports Thursday, builder shares took a beating before recovering slightly. The Dow Jones US Home Construction Index was recently down 1.58%. Centex (CTX), which had been down more than 8%, was recently showing a 3.5% loss. Ryland (RYL) was recently down 3.5%.

That could quickly change with the next report.

-By Dawn Wotapka, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5248; dawn.wotapka@dowjones.com