by Calculated Risk on 5/10/2005 04:36:00 PM

According to the National Association of Home Builders: "Housing To Stay Healthy As It Recedes From Its Peak".

"... economists appearing at a forecasting conference held by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) last week said housing should remain healthy through next year even as it recedes from peak levels. Driven by ongoing population growth and household formations, an expanding market for second homes and the need to replace aging units, demand for housing should hold up well in the foreseeable future, said panelists."

There was some concern expressed about "speculative investment activity" in some of the hotter housing markets: California, Las Vegas, South Florida, Washington, D.C. and the New York-Boston corridor, but the panelists expect to see a slowdown in the rate of price appreciation rather than a decline in prices.

J.P. Morgan’s Glassman discounted fears of reduced house-price appreciation taking a toll on the economy. With the exception of a few boom markets, he said, higher prices largely reflect the real estate market catching up with the lagging prices of the 1990s. “Worry if you want to,” he told audience members. “But I think I would take most of the worries with a grain of salt and just get back to business.”

Whew! I guess I've been wrong: "After the Housing Boom: Impact on the Economy". That is a relief.