Real Recovery: America's Debt Is On Decline

That finding was echoed in the latest report from chief economist Diane Swonk of Mesirow Financial, who took a close look at the troubled housing sector. Even with a projected 18 percent increase in housing starts in 2012 and a 10.7 percent uptick in existing home sales, home prices nationwide are expected to fall another 2 to 4 percent this year as the deleveraging process continues.