A total of 80 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) across 32 states and the District of Columbia were listed as improving housing markets on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) for August.
The August IMI includes 75 markets that retained their places on the list along with five new ones, while nine areas fell from the list due primarily to slight movements in house prices. The five metros that were added to the list this month include Miami and Palm Bay, Fla.; Hinesville, Ga.; Terre Haute, Ind.; and Lubbock, Texas.
‘The list of improving housing markets in August includes metros across every region of the country, all of which have distinctly different characteristics in terms of their economic and employment bases as well as other factors,’ says Barry Rutenberg, NAHB chairman and a home builder from Gainesville, Fla. ‘One thing that most markets have in common, however, is the tight lending environment for both builders and buyers that continues to drag on their positive momentum.’
The complete IMI is now online.