As Home Sales Quicken, So Do Realtors' Pulses

"The $64,000 question is whether more people will list their homes for sale in 2013," he adds. "Based on the conversations our agents have been having with homeowners, we think they will. We also believe that demand among homebuyers will increase, though that prediction has become less certain late in the year. Almost no new Redfin customers are touring homes right now, fewer even than last year."

That trend could be changing -- and fast, Kelman adds.

"But those who have been touring are writing offers at record levels," he says. "Everyone wants to get married on the first date."

That obviously hasn't been the case for years among homebuyers, especially first-time homebuyers.

But the housing market terrain is shifting, and in favor of a long-neglected group - the U.S. homeowner.