The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) released its Improving Markets Index for July and the latest Improving Markets Index includes 255 metros, that’s triple the number of metros which qualified a year ago. July results are down slightly versus prior month.
For the sixth consecutive month more than 70 percent of U.S. metros met the rigorous standards and qualified as improving markets. Given these positive figures, builders remain optimistic about the future. In fact, NAHB Chairman Rick Judson contends that July’s Improving Markets Index indicates a far-reaching recovery is taking place, saying it is “much more extensive than what we were looking at one year ago.”
While a comprehensive housing recovery 
may certainly be underway, challenges remain for homebuilders. NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe reemphasized the need for more readily available building materials, credit, and buildable lots for construction of homes, as these hurdles continue to hinder homebuilder efforts. He noted the uptrend in home values is another contributing factor supporting the recovery of the U.S. housing market. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) reported recently in their Pending Home Sales Index that they are upgrading median price growth projections to 10 percent in 2013. Positive job growth figures re-enforce builder confidence.
The Improving Markets Index measures three key areas. A metro must show improvement for a minimum of 6 months to gain inclusion in the report. Those three areas are:
- Employment, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Housing permits pulled, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau
- House price appreciation, as reported by Freddie Mac
Six metros were added to the July Improving Markets Index:
- Olympia, WA.
- Farmington, NM.
- Cumberland, MD.
- Saginaw, MI.
- Kingston, NY.
- Las Cruces, NM.
Fourteen metros were dropped from the list, including Huntsville, AL.; Albany, GA.; Dayton, OH; Allentown, PA.; Sherman, TX; and Spokane, WA.
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