Housing market showing some positive signs

According to the latest Freddie Mac U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook, home sales are expected to grow between 2 and 5 percent year-over-year. “There are some positive signs in the job market and consumer confidence; housing is starting to raise hopes for continued gradual economic recovery. But the economy still is giving some mixed messages,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac, vice president and chief economist.

The new CoreLogic MarketPulse Report anticipates improvement in both the broad economy and the housing market in 2012. “While 2011 was clearly a challenging year, there is a lot to be positive about looking ahead to 2012,” said Mark Fleming, CoreLogic Chief Economist and head of the CoreLogic Mortgage Analytics & Economics Team. .

Housing starts began to climb last year, rising to around 600,000 in 2011 from 587,000 in 2010. The latest National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) index rose four points from December 2011. According to the NAHB, confidence has risen four months in a row. “Homebuilders are more optimistic about sales over the next six months than they have been since September 2009,” NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe explains.