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The study was conducted authored by Gary Painter, director of USC's Lusk Center for Real Estate, and doctoral candidate Jung Hyun Choi, to determine how long declines in household formation would last following a major economic shock such as a drop in employment that occurred during the recession.

With job growth continuing on a strong track, a growing number of housing economists anticipate a comeback in homeownership—particularly among young adults—in the months and years ahead. However, a recent study from Freddie Mac turned up some discouraging results to throw some cold water on economists' high hopes.

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending February 12 shows the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.69 percent (0.6 point) this week, up a full 10 basis points from last week's 2015 low of 3.59 percent.

Trulia reported Tuesday that asking prices for on-sale homes climbed a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent month-over-month nationwide in January, marking the smallest monthly gain since August. Trulia Chief Economist Jed Kolko says the slowdown reflects a change in the factors influencing price growth.

Consumer optimism on income growth remained fairly high in January, while expectations for home price gains in the next year fell slightly, according to survey results released Monday from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Employers nationwide added 257,000 new jobs last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said Friday. Economists projected a payroll increase of 230,000.

The University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters Index of Consumer Sentiment came to 98.1 in its final January gauge, the group conducting the survey reported. While down slightly from a mid-month reading of 98.2, the index is still higher than it's been in the last 11 years.

Freddie Mac's monthly Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi) improved 0.35 percent month-over-month in November to a reading of 74.7, the company reported Wednesday. A reading between 80 and 120 is considered to be a sign of a stable market.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its monthly Consumer Confidence Index rose to 102.9 this month from an upwardly revised 93.1 in December. According to the group, January's reading was the highest since August 2007, when the index was at 105.6.

The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI), which gauges the near-term economic outlook based on a variety of indicators, increased 0.5 percent in December to 121.1, the group reported Friday. The increase fell between November's gain of 0.4 percent and October's larger 0.6 percent improvement.