Bottomed Out in 3rd Quarter?

A new housing outlook was just published this week by the Senior Economic Analyst for the National Association of Realtors. It indicates that 3rd quarter of 2007 represents a 5% drop in existing home sales (the largest segment of the housing market – it excludes new construction) from the previous quarter. Further, it indicates a steady, slow increase each quarter going forward all the way through 2008. 4th quarter of 2008 existing home sales are estimated to be equal to 1st quarter of 2007. This forecast, therefore, leads us to believe that housing consumer confidence will return sometime during the October to December 2007 timeframe and move forward cautiously through the next year. I’ll keep you posted as I know more.