Slight U.S. Real Estate Recovery Forecasted By Second Half Of 2008

Washington, DC (AHN) - Despite the general gloomy outlook across the American real estate industry, indicators point to a slight recovery in the coming months.

According to the Conference Board's Index of Leading Indicators, positive growth is likely by the second half of 2008. The positive outlook was shared by a National Bureau of Economic Research's March report.

The NBER report cited data from the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's national survey which said applications for mortgages went up by 2.1 percent, its second uptick for two straight weeks. The federal government, meanwhile, said the decline in house prices had been arrested between January and February and home prices even increased slightly by six-tenths of one percent.

Interest rates continued to remain below 6 percent, with 30-year fixed loans at 5.74 percent and 15-year loans at 5.27 percent.

To the contrary, Bloomberg reported the mortgage application index dipped by 14.2 percent last week, its worst drop in four months, based on the MBA's index of applications.

Realty Times said the slight increases "are not ballgame-changers for the real estate industry," adding the U.S. housing inventory must significantly decrease before an end to the down cycle could be proclaimed.