So the statistics are finally starting to emerge, and nobody but the spokespersons for our real estate brokerage industry, our debonair denizens of denial and flagrant fanners of fantasy can gainsay the obvious: the housing market is softening, and it is doing so quickly and rather dramatically. Prices are softening, unsold inventory is rising quickly, and new construction is clearly on the decline. The New York Times pointed all this out in its May 9 Business Section and, as we all know, once the