St. George MSA Added to 101 Improving Markets Index for April

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UNTIL 10:00 A.M., ET, THURSDAY, APRIL 5
CONTACT: Paul Lopez
202-266-8409
plopez@nahb.org
www.nahb.org

101 HOUSING MARKETS ON IMPROVING LIST IN APRIL

WASHINGTON, April 5 – The list of housing markets showing measurable improvement expanded slightly to include 101 metropolitan areas in April, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI), released today. Thirty-five states (including theDistrict of Columbia) are now represented by at least one market on the list.

The index identifies metropolitan areas that have shown improvement from their respective troughs in housing permits, employment and house prices for at least six consecutive months. The 101 markets on the April IMI represent a net gain of two from March, with 13 metros being added and 11 markets slipping from the list while 88 markets retained their places on it. Among the new entrants, areas as diverse asRome,Ga.;Coeur d’Alene,Idaho;Greenville,N.C.;Brownsville,Texas;St. George,Utah; andHuntington,W.Va., are now represented on the IMI.

“While housing markets across the country continue to struggle under the weight of overly tight lending conditions and other challenges, the April IMI indicates that just over 100 individual metros are showing measurable and consistent signs that they are headed in the right direction,” said NAHB Chairman Barry Rutenberg. “A total of 34 states and theDistrict of Columbiaare now represented on the list, with 10 states having four or more entries. This positive news is in line with what our builder members have observed regarding firming conditions and improved buyer interest in certain locations.”

“After five consecutive months of gains, the IMI recently began to plateau, with many markets holding steady and a few experiencing the ups-and-downs that are typical in a choppy recovery,” observed NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “The IMI is designed to highlight markets that are showing consistent improvement, and those markets that have registered the smallest gains are more susceptible to dropping off the list due to a minor setback in prices, permits or employment,” he explained. “At the same time, as stronger markets approach stability, it will get harder for them to keep charting improvement, which will also limit the expansion of the IMI.”

“The fact that the number and geographic distribution of improving housing markets continued to expand beyond the 100 mark in April bodes well for the start of the spring home buying season, and should be an encouraging sign for those who are considering a home purchase,” added Kurt Pfotenhauer, vice chairman of First American Title Insurance Company.

The IMI is designed to track housing markets throughout the country that are showing signs of improving economic health. The index measures three sets of independent monthly data to get a mark on the top improving Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The three indicators that are analyzed are employment growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, house price appreciation from Freddie Mac, and single-family housing permit growth from the U.S. Census Bureau. NAHB uses the latest available data from these sources to generate a list of improving markets. A metropolitan area must see improvement in all three areas for at least six months following their respective troughs before being included on the improving markets list.

A complete list of all 101 metropolitan areas currently on the IMI, and separate breakouts of metros newly added to or dropped from the list in April, is available at: www.nahb.org/imi.

 

APRIL IMPROVING MARKETS
NEW MSAs – April
CA Fresno
GA Rome
IA Sioux City
ID Boise
ID Coeur d’Alene
MD Hagerstown
NC Greenville
NY Buffalo
NY Utica
PA Lancaster
TX Brownsville
UT St. George
WV Huntington

Sustained MSAs – April

AR Little Rock
CA Merced
CO Boulder
CO Denver
CO Fort Collins
CO Greeley
CT New Haven
DC Washington
FL Crestview
FL Orlando
FL Panama City
FL Cape Coral
FL Deltona
FL Jacksonville
FL NorthPort
FL Punta Gorda
FL Tampa
IA Iowa City
IA Ames
IA Des Moines
IA Dubuque
IA Waterloo
IN Evansville
IN Elkhart
IN Indianapolis
IN Lafayette
KY Louisville
LA Lake Charles
LA Monroe
MD Cumberland
ME Lewiston
MI Flint
MI Saginaw
MI Detroit
MI Grand Rapids
MI Lansing
MI Monroe
MI Muskegon
MN Minneapolis
MO Columbia
MO Jefferson City
MO Joplin
MO Kansas City
MS Jackson
NC Burlington
NC Charlotte
NC Goldsboro
NC Greensboro
NC Rocky Mount
NC Winston-Salem
ND Bismarck
ND Fargo
ND Grand Forks
NE Lincoln
NJ OceanCity
NY Glens Falls
NY Rochester
OH Columbus
OH Dayton
OH Springfield
OK Tulsa
OR Corvallis
OR Portland
PA Altoona
PA Erie
PA Pittsburgh
PA Williamsport
SC Charleston
SC Spartanburg
SD Sioux Falls
TN Chattanooga
TN Kingsport
TN Nashville
TX San Antonio
TX Amarillo
TX College Station
TX Dallas
TX Laredo
TX Longview
TX McAllen
TX Midland
TX Odessa
TX Tyler
TX Victoria
UT Provo
VT Burlington
WY Casper
WY Cheyenne
 Editor’s Note: The NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) is usually released on the fourth business day of each month at 10:00 a.m., ET, unless that day falls on a Friday – in which case, the index will be released on the following Monday. A full calendar of future release dates can be found at www.nahb.org/imi.     
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