Housing Recovery Expected in Second Half of 2008

With help from Congress and an accommodating policy from the Federal Reserve, the housing industry will begin its recovery in the second half of 2008, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said in a year-end housing forecast teleconference. “I think the best bet is that 2008 is the year we will be looking at the bottom for various components of the housing market,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders.

“We are in a down time, and many markets that overheated during 2003-2005, such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Miami, are undergoing a natural correction,” added Jerry Howard, executive vice president and CEO of NAHB. “But all housing is local, and the reason we think that the market will stabilize and come back is because many smaller markets that did not experience overheating are still performing at a relatively healthy level. If you balance those markets against those that are undergoing major corrections, we see a solid recovery down the road.” The downtown Nashville real estate market is one of the healthiest markets in the United States.

Seiders, who is forecasting slow economic growth next year, said this forecast is based on several assumptions – the economy avoids recession, Congress passes key reforms to address the sub prime lending crisis, and the central bank remains ready to step in if needed to keep the economy moving forward.

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