National Association of Realtors- Housing to Stabilize

The National Association of Realtors announced today that the housing market is on the verge of stabilizing and forecasts bright times ahead

Bucking conventional wisdom, a trade group for real estate agents on Monday said the battered housing market is on the verge of stabilizing and inched up its outlook for 2007 and 2008 home sales.

The revised monthly forecast from the National Association of Realtors, which followed nine straight months of downward revisions, calls for U.S. existing home sales to fall 12.5 percent this year to 5.67 million — the lowest level since 2002. Last month, the association predicted 5.66 million existing homes would be sold this year.

The Realtors' group also forecast sales will rise slightly in 2008 to 5.7 million, up from last month's prediction of 5.69 million.

Numerous other economists, however, are far less optimistic than the trade group. They predict weak sales and falling prices through next year and beyond and emphasize that those problems could worsen if the economy sinks into a recession.

Looking back, I vaguely remembered this same trade group making a big announcement last year in regards to the housing market.

The key word for the housing market in 2006 is balance, with a return to a more normal rate of price growth, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said current trends in the housing sector are healthy. "We don't need to break a record every year for the housing market to be good - in fact, cooling sales are necessary for the long-term health of this vital sector," Lereah said. "A modest slowdown in home sales, coupled with improvements in housing inventory, means the market is in the process of normalization. That will help to bring balance between home buyers and sellers, yet sales will remain historically strong."

The National Association of Realtors must have the biggest pair of rose-colored glasses on the planet. Believe what you will, but beware the rosy projections coming from this 'trade group'.

**Update: Check out this site to see the foreclosures in your area. Healthy market, indeed.