While many market participants provided a somewhat rosier outlook for home prices in a new survey, the average of the respondents still projects a 2.2% decline in the second half of the year. MacroMarkets said data from its September home price expectations survey show market analysts expect a 0.8% drop in home prices the full year with no improvement next year. Previous surveys showed steeper declines. “For the first time since May when we started conducting this survey, the consensus from our expert panel shows some improvement in the outlook for nationwide home prices in 2010,” said Robert Shiller, MacroMarkets co-founder and chief economist. “These survey results and other recent housing market data are consistent with a scenario of downward-correcting prices in the wake of unsustainable, tax incentive-induced second-quarter performance.” Terry Loebs, MacroMarkets managing director, said other data from the survey indicates the housing market “remains unusually risky in the near-to-intermediate term.” The survey of 114 economists, real estate experts, investment and market strategists is conducted monthly and based upon the projected path of the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index over the coming five years. Write to Jason Philyaw.