The massive housing bill signed by President George W. Bush on July 30th will go a long way toward stabilizing the housing market and make the dream of homeownership more attainable for many Americans, National Association of Realtors® (NAR) President Richard F. Gaylord says. "More families will be able to refinance into safer, more affordable mortgages, in many cases helping those families avoid a devastating foreclosure."

A modest gain in the level of home sales is possible over the next couple months, and an improvement is forecast for the second half of this year as more buyers are able to access affordable mortgages, according to the latest forecast by the National Association Of Realtors®.