The U.S. housing market is passing business investment and exports as the leading source of strength for the struggling American economy, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. 

Despite the current strength of the housing market, job growth will remain weak in 2013 as employers utilize automation in lieu of actual employees, according to the University of California, Los Angeles.

In a quarterly report released Wednesday, UCLA analysts predict a “benign” resolution to the fiscal cliff. The U.S. economy will most likely only see a 2% growth of its annualized rate for the first half of 2013.

The Los Angeles Times article states, “As the year progresses, and with housing and consumer spending predicted to play an increasingly larger role in the recovery, annualized growth isn’t expected to reach much above 3%, according to the forecast.” 

To read the Los Angeles Times article in its entirety click here.