Economists predict the residential housing market will pick up in 2011, thanks to low mortgage rates and bargain home prices. The Wall Street Journal reports economists speaking at the National Association of Home Builders’ annual meeting in Florida last week say a number of recent indicators show the housing market could begin to recover. Consumer confidence is increasing, more jobs are being added to the economy and holiday sales were better than expected. The NAHB predicts work will start on 575,000 new single-family homes in 2011, a 21% increase over 2010. Of course, the Journal notes the NAHB had a similarly rosy forecast for 2010, predicting 610,000 single-family home starts. The actual tally for the year is expected to be around 475,000.
This week’s question: Do you expect Capital Region home sales in 2011 will top 2010 levels?
