Improving Housing Markets List Continues to Grow

For the fifth straight month more than 70 percent of U.S. Metropolitan areas are listed as "improving" by the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index. The Index for June posts a total of 263 metro areas that have had six straight months of improvement in their respective performances on measures of housing, employment, and home prices.

Twenty-nine new markets joined the list over the last month while 24 others were dropped. There are now 49 states and the District of Columbia represented on the list. Added were geographically diverse areas such as Sioux City, Topeka, Baton Rouge, and Salinas.

"As market conditions improve across most of the country, some metros have moved onto the IMI list while marginal seasonal fluctuations have nudged others off of it," noted NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "This is to be expected as the recovery expands. Meanwhile, it's worth noting that the number of improving markets is now more than three times what it was in June 2012."

To be included on the list a market must show six consecutive months of improvement from its recent low point in each of the three indicators as measured by data on employment growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, housing permits from the U.S. Census Bureau, and home prices from Freddie Mac.

"This is the fifth consecutive month in which the IMI has designated more than 70 percent of U.S. metros as improving," observed NAHB Chairman Rick Judson. "While that's a good sign that the housing recovery is on solid footing, we know that various challenges are slowing its progress - including continuing issues with credit availability for builders and buyers, as well as appraisals that aren't keeping up with the rising cost of construction."