Housing could sizzle this summer

Jill on Money

“The housing market is coming back and it looks like it will be with a vengeance,” commented economist Joel Naroff on news of soaring building permit applications and encouraging trends in other key housing indicators.

That’s great news for patient homeowners, who have been waiting a long time for the tide to turn. As of March, the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index is up 24.7 percent from the post-bubble low set in December 2011, but it still remains 7.6 percent below the peak.

But economists are hopeful that activity and prices will continue to perk up, due to a number of factors. The most important catalyst for housing is the improving economy and employment landscape. As Americans feel more confident about the economy and more secure in their jobs, they will be more willing to take the big step of home ownership.

Additionally, mortgage rates remain low and banks are finally loosening credit conditions, both of which have drawn more buyers into the market, including a group called “boomerang buyers.” These are homeowners who lost their homes during the housing recession and are ready to jump back into the market.

According to real estate information company RealtyTrac, from 2007 to 2014 some 7.3 million Americans lost their homes to foreclosures or to short sales. Because both of these events can remain on a person’s credit report for up to seven