"Improving Markets" Nearly Double in January

The list of housing markets demonstratingrnimprovement on a trio of housing-related measures took a big jump in January,rnrising to 76 cities from 41 in December. rnThe National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/First American ImprovingrnMarkets Index (IMI) highlights metropolitan areas that have shown a consistentrnimprovement in housing permits, employment, and house prices. </p

A metropolitan area must see improvementrnon each of three data sets used by IMI; the Bureau of Labor Statisticsrn(employment), Freddie Mac (home prices), and the U.S. Census Bureau (permits)rnfor a minimum of six months following its respective trough to be included onrnthe list.  </p

The new cities were geographicallyrndispersed; cities in 22 states made their initial appearance in January.  Thirty-one states and the District ofrnColumbia are now represented by at least one metro area.  Five cities in five states fell off the listrnin the last month. </p<p"Whilernrelatively small metropolitan areas continue to dominate the list of improvingrnhousing markets, it's important to note that several major metros in diversernparts of the country have now joined the field as well – including such metrosrnas Dallas, Denver, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Nashville and Philadelphia,"rnadded NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "This is an encouraging sign thatrngradually strengthening economic conditions are starting to take hold across arnbroader swath of America."</p

New entrants to the list in January include the following (listed alphabetically by state):</p

Florence, AL
Tuscaloosa, AL
Fayetteville, AR
Denver, CO
Greeley, CO
Bridgeport, CT
New Haven, CT
Cape Coral, FL
Jacksonville, FL
Punta Gorda, FL
Honolulu, HI
Ames, IA
Des Moines, IA
Dubuque, IA
Elkhart, IN
Indianapolis, IN
Lafayette, IN
Lake Charles, LA
Worcester, MA
Grand Rapids, MI
Lansing, MI
Monroe, MI
Minneapolis, MN
Columbia, MO
Joplin, MO
Fargo, ND
Manchester, NH
Cincinnati, OH
Oklahoma City, OK
Tulsa, OK
Corvallis, OR
Erie, PA
Philadelphia, PA
Chattanooga, TN
Clarksville, TN
Nashville, TN
College Station, TX
Dallas, TX
Victoria, TX
Madison, WI

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