Housing's Future Bright

According to "America's Home Forecast: The Next Decade for Housing and Mortgage Finance," a report by the Homeownership Alliance, the future of housing looks bright. It is likely that more than 70 percent of American families will be homeowners by 2013, and the demand for housing in the intervening years will require construction of an average of 1.8 million new units annually, not including manufactured (HUD-code) housing, the 10-year forecast predicts.

• Home price appreciation should average around 5 percent a year from 2004 to 2013 but could be above 6 percent if supply constraints continue to tighten.
• Mortgage originations are projected to average nearly $3 trillion per year, and residential mortgage debt is projected to grow close to an 8.25 percent annualized rate.
• Roughly half of the more than 10 million families that join the ranks of homeowners over the next decade will be minorities.