New home under construction in Asheville, photo by Brock Builders.
Not all markets are in decline
Last month, only 12 housing markets were listed in the first edition of the National Association of Home Builders/ First American Improving Markets Index (IMI), but this month, 23 individual housing markets have been featured, a doubling in volume of improving markets. The index added new parameters after its first edition, so many of the new markets may be attributed to the change, but overall, more markets are improving.
The IMI measures markets that have improved for at least six months in employment, housing permit and housing prices. The top 23 improving markets for October are:
- Alexandria, LA
- Amarillo, TX
- Anchorage, AK
- Bismarck, ND
- Casper, WY
- Fairbanks, AK
- Fayetteville, NC
- Houma, LA
- Iowa City, IA
- Jonesboro, AR
- Kankakee, IL
- McAllen, TX
- Midland, TX
- New Orleans, LA
- Odessa, TX
- Pine Bluff, AR
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Sherman, TX
- Sumter, SC
- Waco, TX
- Waterloo, IA
- Wichita Falls, TX
- Winston-Salem, NC
“Both the number and geographic diversity of improving housing markets expanded this month, with Iowa, Illinois and South Carolina all newly represented by one entry or more on the list,” said National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Chairman Bob Nielsen, a home builder from Reno, Nev. “This is further evidence that, despite the tough conditions that persist in many cities, pockets of improvement are emerging in local housing markets across the country.”
“While Pittsburgh and New Orleans remain the two largest improving markets, the October IMI is heavily weighted by smaller cities in which energy and agriculture are the primary economic drivers and where the effects of the recession have been less pronounced,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “In particular, Texas stands out for its seven entries on the improving markets list.”
This new economic indicator is important and worthy of attention because it is one of the few that measures employment levels alongside housing, so the IMI is a good indicator to get familiar with and we will be bringing to you regularly.
