Home prices are expected to grow modestly next year and sales will keep rising as the housing market continues to recover from the worst downturn since the Great Depression, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.

Home resales are projected to total 5.7 million next year, up from an estimated 5 million this year. Prices will climb about 4 percent after a projected decline of 13 percent this year, according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the trade association.

'Going into 2010, I anticipate that prices will also begin stabilizing or begin to modestly improve,' Yun told the audience at the association's annual conference and expo in San Diego.

That should help ease buyers' anxiety. 'I don't think the fear factor will be at play in 2010,' Yun said.

The housing market's rebound has been aided by an aggressive federal intervention to lower mortgage rates and bring more buyers into the market. Home resales rose in September to the highest level in more than two years, something Yun said shows buyers are eager to get back into the market.