National Association of Realtors: Housing Market on the Upswing in 2008

Recent forecasts from the National Association of Realtors see “little change” in existing home sales – but not for long, with “notable improvements” expected in the second half of this year.

“Existing home sales could start to show a sustained increase within a few months, unless there are some additional economic problems or excessive inflationary pressure,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.  “We’re looking for essentially stable sales in the near term.”

According to NAR estimates, existing-home sales should rise from an annual pace of 4.9 million in the first quarter to 5.9 million in the fourth quarter.