This is an excerpt from a recent post from Dan Green:

Each month, Fannie Mae conducts a National Housing Survey. The agency speaks with 1,000 households nationwide about the state of the U.S. housing market. Survey results from December show consumers overwhelmingly bullish on the future of housing with 67% of those surveyed said now is “a good time to buy a home”. It’s easy to understand why respondents are optimistic. As compared to one year ago, home values in many U.S. cities are up ten percentage points or more versus last year, with some areas seeing growth of 20% or more.

The housing market’s recovery has been national news. Hard-hit cities during last decade’s downturn have led this decade’s rebound. Phoenix, Arizona and San Francisco, California are two notable markets in which single-family home values have climbed twenty-plus percent. Condos are faring even better.

A sampling of recent statistics demonstrates how much U.S. housing has improved.

• Existing home supply is at just 5.1 months nationwide
• New Home Sales are up 17% annually
• Homebuilder confidence is at a 7-year high