HOUSING MARKET OUTLOOK PROJECTIONS

The latest U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook released by Freddie Mac shows that the housing sector is recovering. Here are some of the highlights:

• For the first year since 2005, residential fixed investment (RFI) made positive contributions to GDP growth, adding 0.4 percent to growth in the fourth quarter and 0.3 percent for the year in 2012. Expect RFI to contribute upwards of 0.5 percent for 2013 as a whole.

• Projecting housing starts in 2013 will increase to 950,000 units or about 22 percent higher than 2012 levels.

• Existing home sales are expected to pick-up as the house price recovery allows homeowners who have been forced on the sidelines by negative equity to get back into the market.