"The evidence is beginning to mount that the housing market has stabilized and is improving," Builderonline's Teresa Burney reports.

There was more bounce in the step of many people attending the International Builders' Show than had been there in recent years, Burney said, based partly on a "ray of sunshine" in 2011's fourth quarter.

The annual rate of single-family home starts peaked for 2011 in December. That came after the home-buyer tax credit had gone away, so it's a more dependable signal, according to Adam Rudiger, an analyst with Wells Fargo.

In addition, Burney said, there is "concrete evidence of improvement in the fourth quarter sales orders reports from the 12 public home builders who have filed their numbers."