Below is an article published in the Dallas Morning News Business Section

Dallas Morning News, The (TX)  

Bright forecast
Housing market predictions vary, but N. Texas expected to do better than nation
STEVE BROWN Real Estate Editor stevebrown@dallasnews.com  

Confused about where the local housing market is going?  

Well, don't look to the economists and research analysts for help.  

Most respected housing forecasters agree that the Dallas-Fort Worth area will fare better than rest of the country when it comes to home sales and pricing.  

But getting any two economists to agree about anything is tougher than getting a no-down-payment loan.  

Here's what the top prognosticators are saying about the North Texas home market.  

Moody's Economy.com  

What home price decline?  

Moody's Economy.com predicts that Dallas-area home prices will go up about 3 percent a year over the next couple of years.  

At the same time, it expects double-digit price declines in other cities - especially in California and Florida.  

Moody's thinks nationwide home prices will fall by almost 8 percent by the time the current housing downturn bottoms.  

BIGGEST DECLINES  

Moody's Economy.com expects the Dallas area to gain about 3 percent in home prices over the next two years while most other U.S. cities see declines:  

1. Stockton, Calif. {TriDown} 25%  

2. Palm Bay, Fla. {TriDown} 24.9%  

3. Sarasota, Fla. {TriDown} 24.8%  

4. Reno, Nev. {TriDown} 22.4%  

5. Modesto, Calif. {TriDown} 22.3%

 SOURCE: Moody's Economy.com  

PMI Group 

No worries for North Texas  

The folks who insure mortgages should have an idea where home prices are heading. And PMI Group - one of the country's largest mortgage insurance firms - isn't worried about home prices here.  

The California firm estimates that D-FW home prices have less than a 10 percent chance of falling during the next two years.

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