Improving Markets List Holds Steady in May

In April, there were 101 markets listed on the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI); for May, there are 100 listed.

The list highlights areas that have shown improvement from their respective troughs in housing permits, employment and house prices for at least six consecutive months. While the NAHB added 17 new metropolitan areas to May's list, 18 dropped off. New additions include Phoenix; Bowling Green, Ky.; Bend, Ore.; and Lubbock, Texas.

"The fact that there are 100 markets in 34 states and the District of Columbia represented on the improving list illustrates that all housing markets are local, and that the national headlines often don't apply to what's happening in a specific metropolitan area," said NAHB Chairman Barry Rutenberg, a home builder from Gainesville, Fla. "In places where employment is firming up along with demand for new homes, the main factors weighing down the housing market continue to be access to credit (for both builders and buyers) and the difficulty of obtaining accurate appraisals on new construction."

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