US homebuilders see stable housing market ahead

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The CEOs of some of America's biggest homebuilding companies said Thursday that they feel the housing market has stabilized.

But they were careful not to be overly optimistic even with the spring home-selling season coming up. A year ago many housing experts forecast housing would begin recovering in 2011, only to see it play out as the worst year for new home sales on records going back a half-century.

Executives at PulteGroup Inc., MDC Holdings Inc., M/I Homes Inc. and Beazer Homes USA Inc. weighed in on the housing market after their companies reported financial results for October to December.

In that period, sales of new homes rose nationally as …