Less than half of Americans view buying a home as a family's best investment, a low for this year, a Rasmussen poll finds.

"The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of U.S. adults shows that just 47 percent believe buying a home is the best investment a family can make, a new low for the year. Twenty-eight percent disagree with that assessment, while another 25 percent are undecided," Rasmussen reports.

An earlier Rasmussen poll in May shows that an equal amount polled, 47 percent, expect home values to rise over the next five years.

Short-term forecasts showed a similar trend.

"Twenty-four percent expect their home’s value to go down over the next year, while a majority (55 percent) predict values will stay about the same," Rasmussen adds.

Separately, a recent National Association for Business Economics poll finds that housing starts should increase 18 percent in 2012.

Economists surveyed expect housing starts to reach 720,000 units in 2012, up from 610,000 in 2011, which represents a slight upward revision from a previous forecast made in February, the association says in a statement.

The forecast for 2013 shows continued improvement, with housing starts reaching 850,000 units, unchanged from the previous survey.

Economists note improvements in the sector.

"Homebuilders are reporting stronger demand," Ian Shepherdson, an economist at High Frequency Economics, said in a note to clients, according to the Associated Press.

"And while rental demand means the multi-family sector is much stronger than single family, that will change as the labor market improves further."