A poll of 23 economists, the Reuters news agency reported, found that home prices probably have finally put their toes on the bottom of the pool and may be ready to begin rising in 2013.

After the past few years, that is a bell-ringing cheer. When last asked in November, the economists said they expected home prices to shave off another 0.3 percent this year.

The new finding squares with other assessments recently, though the predictions often are accompanied by warnings that a European financial meltdown could void all bets.

Reuters quoted FTN Financial economist Lindsey Piegza as saying, "I think we are seeing stabilization, but unfortunately it's stability at the bottom."

What's more, lest anyone get ahead of themselves, Reuters noted that the Federal Reserve Board and other economists thought that late 2006 might be a bottom in home-price declines, too.

Minutes of the Dec. 12, 2006, Fed meeting said, "However, there were some indications that home sales might be starting to stabilize...."