Housing market boom seen continuing

[CNN money]

Housing market boom seen continuing
Report: With a growing economy and a limited supply of land, there won't be a slowdown anytime soon.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - There is no sign of a slowdown in the housing market, thanks to an expanding economy, regulatory constraints and a limited supply of land for development, according to a report cited by the Washington Post Monday.

Home prices have been climbing for 13 years, with the rise in 2004 the largest annual jump since 1979, the paper said, quoting from the report by Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Harvard economists cited by the paper said the market continues to be fueled by easy credit, low interest rates, affluent baby boomers buying second homes and the continued growth of immigration.

Most housing indicators set records in 2004, the report noted, including the homeownership rate, new home sales, existing home sales and single-family housing starts.

Homeownership has risen to a record high of 69 percent of households.

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