Houston expected to see rising home prices in 2011

While the national real estate market may continue to struggle in 2011, a new report says that the prices of Houston homes should continue to show strong growth throughout the year.

According to Clear Capital, home prices ended 2010 down 4.1 percent compared to the start of the year. While the market will stabilize somewhat this year, economists predict that prices nationwide will fall an addditional 3.7 percent this year.

However, the Houston-Sugarland-Baytown region is expected to see prices gain 3.6 percent throughout the year, building on a 3.3 percent improvement in 2010.

"In terms of home prices, this past year has certainly been characterized by uncertainty," said Dr. Alex Villacorta, senior statistician for Clear Capital. "Some housing markets are well on their way to recovery, while others are experiencing a renewed downturn reminiscent of the housing crash only two years ago."

Those price gains have carried over to local sales prices as well. Data from the Houston Association of Realtors shows both the average and median prices for homes sold in September, October and November were the highest ever recorded for those months.