Though outspoken billionaire Warren Buffett predicted at the end of February that the United States housing slump would be over by the end of 2011, many others aren’t quite as optimistic.

Areas across the country that have been hit the hardest include California, Florida, Las Vegas, and cities in Arizona. Places known as hot spots for tourism and disposable spending were hit the hardest, said Eric Landry, director of industrial sector research at Chicago-based investment research company Morningstar.

Recovery in California is expected to be modest. The California Association of Realtors’ forecast is for home sales to rise 1 percent next year to 496,200 units. That follows two flat years with 491,100 sales forecast this year and 491,500 homes sold in 2010.