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Wells Fargo economist Mark Vitner is optimistic about the Florida market's recovery.

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Despite national and global headwinds, the state's real estate market is entering 2012 on an upward trend, according to three leading U.S. economists on Wednesday.

“Our state is in a mini-recovery,” said Florida Realtors Florida RealtorsLatest from The Business JournalsEconomists: Florida's housing market bouncing backEconomists: Florida's housing market bouncing backTampa Bay area home, condo sales activity increases as prices fallFollow this company chief economist John Tuccillo at the state association's 2012 Real Estate & Economic Forecast Conference in Orlando. “Sales are trending up, listing inventories are falling, the supply of lender-related properties has stabilized, and we are seeing multiple offers on homes in some local markets.”

The outlook is rosier than a Tuesday report by CoreLogic, which showed Miami-Dade County barely squeezed out a price increase for home sales in October, while prices continued to drop in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

October sales of both existing condos and single-family homes in South Florida’s major urban centers jumped, with Miami condos spiking by 63 percent and home sales up by 41 percent, Florida Realtors reported previously.

Because of Florida's appeal to international buyers, Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors National Association of RealtorsLatest from The Business JournalsEconomists: Florida's housing market bouncing backEconomists: Florida's housing market bouncing backPending home sales rise in OctoberFollow this company , said he was optimistic about the outlook for South Florida, in particular.

“Don’t be surprised to see a gain in home prices in the Miami and Naples markets in the next 18 months,” he said. “From there, the recovery is likely to roll northward to Central Florida and then North Florida.”

An article in the Nov. 25 print edition of the Business Journal showed how some condo developers have been targeting the Brazilian market, which has helped fill a glut of condos in the Miami area.

Wells Fargo Wells FargoLatest from The Business JournalsClimate Counts: Hewlett-Packard, Bank of America lead firms with New Mexico presenceIowa governor pitches Silicon PrairieInergy subsidiary launches 0M IPOFollow this company senior economist Mark Vitner said the nationwide economy will continue to face challenges next year related to the European debt crisis, but as the U.S. economy continues to recover, Florida should be in a good position to see more economic recovery as well.