A real estate group says sales of previously occupied homes rose modestly from April to May, the third monthly increase this year, but signs of any housing recovery are fragile at best.

Home sales in Virginia—including the Richmond area—continue to fall along with housing prices, but signs are emerging that the worst could be over, according to a report released yesterday by the Virginia Association of Realtors. “We may be past the bottom—perhaps, perhaps,“ John McClain, senior fellow at George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis, said during a news media conference call about Virginia’s housing market for the first quarter.