After improving in 2011, foreclosure activity ramped up again in 2012, and the expectation is that it will continue to rise as banks finally clear out bloated backlogs of distressed loans. More than half of the top 200 U.S. housing markets saw foreclosure numbers rise, according to a new report from RealtyTrac, but not where you might expect; investors should take note.

(Read More: Is the Refi 'Apocalypse' Really Upon Us?)

It sounds like a ridiculous premise. A football game saving the planet? But the answer could be 'yes,' if we take what we learn about energy consumption during the Super Bowl and apply it to every other day on the calendar.

That is what a Virginia-based energy analytics company does and sells.

Mortgage rates today are very low, but U.S. borrowers have a very short memory. They forget that the rate on the 30-year fixed, which sits around 3.6 percent today, was a full percentage point higher a year ago, and above 5 percent in January of 2010. The purchasing power gained through today's low rates have arguably helped fuel the recovery in home sales. Low rates have also sparked a boom in mortgage refinancing, which in turn has put more spending money in consumers' pockets.

Still, the slightest move higher has dramatic effects.

(Read More: US Mortgage Applications Fall as Refi Demand Drops )

The housing market is supposedly roaring back. Home prices are seeing their biggest annual gains since 2006.

Renters must be rushing back to buy, right?

Not exactly.

In fact, even as housing and the greater economy improve, a shift in demographic trends will likely favor the rental apartment market for the foreseeable future. It is all about women.

Signed contracts to buy existing homes fell 4.3 percent in December from the previous month, according to a monthly index from the National Association of Realtors. That missed analysts' expectations of a one percent gain. The index is 6.9 percent higher than December of 2011. Realtors say it is not lack of demand but supply at the end of 2012 that pushed the numbers down.

"Buyer interest remains solid, as evidenced by a separate Realtor survey which shows that buyer foot traffic is easily outpacing seller traffic," wrote Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR in a release.

(Read More: New Housing Fears: Home Prices Rising Too Fast?)

As the old adage goes, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Precisely what some of the nation's home builders are doing. Faced with heavy competition from a hot rental market, they are turning some of their resources to building multi-family, rental apartment buildings.

"There is always a need for construction of multi-family, and it has always been an important part of the housing picture," says Stuart Miller, CEO of Miami-based Lennar, one of the nation's largest public home builders.

The approach of a new milestone going forward often prompts us to look back to from whence we came; potential new highs in the stock market are no different, especially when it comes to housing, the sector that is largely blamed for bringing down the markets in the first place.

As the Dow approaches 14000 and the S&P 500 matches its October 2007 peak, stocks of the nation's home builders continue on what looks like an unstoppable trajectory skyward. But is it?

"For Sale" signs may seem like an eyesore to neighbors on any given local street, but the lack of them is a much bigger problem.

Just 1.82 million homes were listed for sale in December, according to the National Association of Realtors. That is a 22 percent drop from a year ago and the lowest supply since May of 2005, when words like "boom" and "bubble" followed the word "housing." At the current sales pace it would take just 4.4 months to sell those homes.

The December numbers beat expectations by a lot. Housing starts jumped 12 percent month-to-month, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 954,000 units. That sent the stocks of the public home builders higher and prompted housing analysts to exclaim bullish headlines.

"Housing starts were off the charts in December," wrote Patrick Newport of HIS Global Insight. Newport blamed much of the gains on warm weather, but added, "the housing recovery is ongoing and has steam."

"Given how far below normal levels starts remain even now, we expect further strong gains during 2013," wrote Paul Diggle of Capital Economics.

Just one week after it laid out new rules for mortgage lending, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is now targeting mortgage servicers, the companies that process your monthly payments and come after you when you don't pay.