Housing guru Tom Lawler predicts a continuation of home sales' sideways trend.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) will release its existing home sales data on Thursday, and housing guru Tom Lawler is predicting a continuation of the sideways growth that has defined home sales for the last four months.

Posted on the popular finance blog “Calculated Risk,” Lawler’s projections on sales, inventories and other housing measures are oft-cited figures in the news media and housing industry.

“Based on the information I have so far from local Realtor associations/MLS/boards, I estimate that existing home sales as calculated by the National Association of Realtors ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate [SAAR] of around 4.80 million, down 4.6 percent from August’s pace, but pretty darned close to the average monthly sales pace for the past four months,” Lawler wrote.

Additionally, Lawler estimated continued declines in housing inventories, another recent trend in housing.

NAR is poised to release existing-home sales data for September this Thursday, Oct. 20, at 10 a.m. ET.