Eleven Cities Fall From Improving Markets List; Annual Trend Stays Strong

The list of ‘Improving Markets”rncompiled by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) andrnFirst American Title declined by eight in August to 247. This numberrnincluded 244 metropolitan areas that appeared on the July list andrnthree newcomers. Eleven cities fell from the list.</p

The Improving Markets Index (IMI)rnidentifies cities which have shown improvement from their respectiverntroughs on three economic markers, home construction, employment, andrnhome prices, for at least six consecutive months. NAHB/FirstrnAmerican use housing permit data from the U.S. Census Bureau,rnemployment statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and homernprice information from Freddie Mac to construct the IMI.</p

Added to the list this month werernKankakee, Illinois, and Atlantic City and Ocean City in New Jersey. Dropping from the list were Huntington and Parkersburg, WestrnVirginia; Las Cruces, New Mexico; Tyler, Texas, Lewiston, Idaho;rnLancaster, Pennsylvania; Bloomington, Indiana; Champaign,rnSpartenburg, St. Cloud, and Virginia Beach. </p

While the number of improving marketsrnis down from July, NAHB pointed out that the list includes about<bthree times the number of metropolitan areas that were on the listrnjust one year ago. However, the list peaked at 274 areas in Marchrnand, except for June, has declined each month since. Even with thernrecent declines approximately 70 percent of U.S. Metro areas remainrnon the list.

“In all, 244 metros that were listed asrnimproving in July retained that status in August, and this is anrnencouraging sign of the continuing housing recovery,” noted NAHBrnChairman Rick Judson. “That said, we know that the pace ofrnimprovement is being hampered somewhat by challenges that buildersrnand buyers are experiencing with regard to the availability ofrncredit, materials, lots for development, and labor.”

“Whilernthe number of improving housing markets this August remains wellrnahead of the same month last year, the index is affected by seasonalrnsoftening in home prices just as we saw happen in 2012.  Thernmetros that fell off the list this month originally qualified withrnvery small home price improvements that have since slipped back,”rnexplained NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “As house pricesrnreturn to more normal levels in fully recovered markets, further IMIrnadvancements will be more modest.”

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