Housing industry economists are forecasting that the slumping housing market will "bottom out" sometime soon, perhaps as early as the fourth quarter of 2006.
In a conference call with reporters Dec. 21, Fannie Mae Chief Economist David W. Berson said that while he and two other industry forecasters differ on the timing, "The key is we all think that the housing downturn is close to an end....It's not going to continue throughout 2007."