I’ve always wondered if agents consider the shows allies — educating potential buyers and sellers about the housing market — or enemies, filling the heads of buyers and sellers with housing myths.

RealtyTrac, an online provider of foreclosure information, reported that foreclosure activity rose once again in August. This time, activity rose by 12 percent.

Problem is, sometimes buyers will view a home’s virtual tour and see one small thing they don’t like, the agent I interviewed told me. They’ll then instantly cross that home of their list of potentials.

In Malibu, the open house guide comes with symbols: A knife and fork represent agent open houses that are serving food. A wine glass means the open house comes stocked only with beverages.

Here’s a sure sign that the housing market is struggling: Walk through your neighborhood. Have all those “For Sale” signs you used to see become “For Rent” signs? Then you know there’s trouble in the housing market.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are a record number of homes sitting vacant. This is bad news for neighborhoods.

But at least the home-improvement shows are starting to reflect realty reality.

The good news, and it’s just the tiniest glimmer of good news, is that some real estate experts are saying that we’ve either reached the bottom or are very close to the bottom of the real estate slump. The market, they say, should begin its slow, gradual turnaround.

Each day, I stumble across another story that illustrates just how serious the mortgage crisis has become in this country.

According to a report from the Corporation for National and Community Service, Chicago ranked only 37th among 50 large cities in the percentage of adult residents who volunteer their time to serve worthwhile causes.