David Lereah, NAR?EUR??,,????'???s chief economist, said current trends in the housing sector are healthy.

?EUR??,,????'??We don?EUR??,,????'???t need to break a record every year for the housing market to be good ?EUR??,,????'??? in fact, cooling sales are necessary for the long-term health of this vital sector,?EUR??,,????'?? Lereah said. ?EUR??,,????'??A modest slowdown in home sales, coupled with improvements in housing inventory, means the market is in the process of normalization.?EUR??,,????'??

After setting a fifth consecutive annual record, projected to 7.10 million units for 2005, existing-home sales are forecast to ease by 4.4 percent to 6.79 million this year, which would be the second highest on record. Sales of new homes, which expected to be a record 1.29 million for 2005, are expected to decline six percent to 1.21 million in 2006. Total housing starts for 2005 are seen at 2.07 million units ?EUR??,,????'??? the highest since setting a record 1972 ?EUR??,,????'??? with a 6.6 percent slowing to 1.94 million this year.

NAR President Thomas M. Stevens from Vienna, Va., said price appreciation should be at more normal levels across most of the country.

?EUR??,,????'??Buyers are no longer competing for a tight supply,?EUR??,,????'?? Stevens said. ?EUR??,,????'??That means home prices generally will rise much closer to long-term norms, which is the overall rate of inflation plus one or two percentage points.?EUR??,,????'??