Housing market nationally looking better

This is a good Economist story about how the national housing market is doing, http://www.economist.com/node/21559923.  We are seeing similar trends here in Silicon Valley, with more cash buyers and investors purchasing homes.  The interesting thing here is that most renters would prefer to own their homes, so perhaps we will see more activity again in a year or two as these investors sell these homes for a profit to their current renters or another family.