Econintersect: A number of sources have been forecasting that the bottom for the housing market is near or actually here. But there are other opinions. Among those that think the bottom is near, Goldman Sachs has gotten recent headlines, but they are not alone: Here is a partial list:
- Goldman Sachs analysts have forecast that prices will bottom around mid-year 2012, reported by The Wall Street Journal.
- Jerome Idaszak, writing for Kiplinger, says prices will bottom early in 2012 with slow recovery (small single digit percent gains annually) thereafter.
- Rick Sharga is quoted in Seattle pi saying that housing is bottoming right now but will remain mostly flat until 2014.
- Jon Najarian, at CNBC, also thinks the market is bottoming now, but he sees a rapid average price rise in the coming year.
- Doug Kass is reported at Market Squeeze calling a market bottom right now.
Not everyone is agreeing with the above analysts. One who disagrees is Keith Jurow, author of the Housing Market Report at Minyanville and frequent guest author at Econintersect, who said in a Wall Street Journal interview last week that there is no housing market bottom in sight for many major metros in the U.S. His interview was summarized in an article at Business Insider.
But, of course, the bottom in the housing market has been called before. One of the most famous such calls was made by Jim Cramer in June, 2009, on CNBC. Here is the original call: Cramer: Housing Has Officially Bottomed. This was a follow-up to his prediction in August, 2008 that the housing market would bottom by third quarter 2009.
Sources: The Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger, Seattle pi, CNBC, Market Squeeze and Business Insider
