According to a recent report issued at the National Association of Realtors Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo, the group expects home sales to continue to improve throughout 2011.
"If we just hold at the first-quarter sales pace of 5.1 million, sales this year would rise 4 percent, but the remainder of the year looks better," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. "We expect 5.3 million existing-home sales this year, up from 4.9 million in 2010, with additional gains in 2012 to about 5.6 million - that's a sustainable level given the size of our population."
Mortgage rates are expected to increase gradually, the report states, growing to 5.5 percent by the end of 2011 and then to an average 6 percent during 2012.
Furthermore, Yun predicts the Gross Domestic Product will increase 2.5 percent during 2011 and then 2.7 percent in 2012, which will create between 1.2 million and 2 million jobs a year during the next several years.
Increased employment in Houston will also aid the region's economy. With 50,700 more jobs available in the area during February 2011, Houston's real estate market could rebound nicely soon, reflecting the national trend Yun predicted. 
Courtesy of 2M Realty News