>Some of the nation’s top economists believe the housing market has turned and better days are on the way for the housing industry.

Increases in jobs, credit, and affordable homes will overcome impediments such as rising interest rates, and the expiration of the Federal stimulus program to push the housing market toward recovery, says Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist for Barclays Capital.

“I would bet even odds that we’re at a bottom and that we’re going to see improvement in the coming months,” says Karl Case, co-creator of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index and a professor of economics at Wellesley College.

“The underlying trend is turning positive,” says Bruce Kasman, chief economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Source: Bloomberg, Kathleen M. Howley and Rich Miller (03/15/2010)