Signs Point to End of Housing Recession

National experts are starting to proclaim that the housing crisis will end this year and that 2013 should see healthy improvement. Who, you ask?

How about Barron’s cover story Ready to Rebound. The piece covers a good number of data points but the one that speaks loudest to my ears is new construction.

Home builders put it all on the line and wouldn’t do so without cause. (Many Louisville home builders are out of business thanks to this current recession.)

This monthly survey seeks to capture shifts in builders’ perceptions of current and future market conditions and buyer traffic. The index has been on a tear of late, rising five months in a row and to its highest level since 2007.

This coincides with banks loosening some lending rules:

Banks are now lending amounts up to 3.5 times borrower earnings. This is up from a low during the crisis of 3.2 times borrower earnings.

All in all, very positive news for the Louisville real estate market as a whole. When the housing market improves, it positively affects the rest of the economy.