Tax credits sparked a big jump in home sales last month, as first-time buyers took advantage of low prices and interest rates.

But the longer-term housing outlook remains clouded, with a large inventory of foreclosed homes expected to hit the market later this year.

The Wall Street Journal's latest quarterly survey of housing-market conditions in 28 major metro areas found that inventories of homes for sale, as well as the number of distressed borrowers, remain very high in many metro areas. That portends more downward pressure on prices from bank foreclosures.

Wall Street Journal