“Despite rising mortgage rates, our forecast for home sales is stronger than the previous forecast, given our brighter economic growth and labor market outlook,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “We expect modest increases in home sales, despite recent interest rate rises, due in part to modest additional declines in home prices, and we expect people to take advantage of affordability as their employment and income outlook brightens.”
December 2010 Economic Outlook
Duncan says more positives than negatives for first time in a long time. Consumer spending is up. Improved demand for goods and services.