The National Association of Home Builders’ chief economist is predicting a
U.S. housing market turnaround this year, leading to a much improved 2013. David Crowe is expecting construction of single-family homes and sales of all new homes to increase significantly compared to 2011, which was a miserable year for sales. In fact, last year’s sales of new homes bottomed out to the lowest level on record going back 50 years. Crowe made the predictions in early February during the trade association’s gathering in
Orlando, Florida.
By the end of this year, Crowe estimates a 19 percent jump in sales of single-family homes. That’s about 360,000 sales compared to 303,000 in 2011. By 2013, he expects sales of single-family homes to soar by a huge 40 percent, to 505,000 homes. These estimates are contingent upon a U.S. unemployment rate of under 8.5 percent and steady job growth, among other issues. Still, other economists say that number is well below what is generally considered to be a healthy housing market: 700,000 homes a year.