Home Values Pull Up in More States
Home values in 29 states and the District of Columbia are within their historically normal range, according to Freddie Mac's latest housing index.
The Multi-Indicator Market Index now stands at a value of 81, indicating a national housing market that is on its outer range of stable activity. The MiMi has improved 6.17 percent year-over-year and has rebounded 37 percent since its all-time low in October 2010. Still, the index remains significantly off its high of 121.7.
Housing Markets to Watch
The MiMi bases the stability of housing markets on home-purchase applications, payment-to-income ratios, proportion of on-time mortgage payments, and local employment. The states with the highest MiMi values are California, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, and Utah. Forty-six of the 100 metro areas the MiMi analyzes also have values in the stable range, with Fresno, Calif.; Austin, Texas; Honolulu; Salt Lake City; and Los Angeles among the top performers.
"Nationally, all MiMi indicators are heading in the right direction for the second consecutive month and improving more than 6 percent from the same time last year," says Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac's deputy chief economist. "Florida has some of the most improving housing markets in the country, largely a reflection of more borrowers becoming current on their mortgage payments as the local employment picture improves and house prices rebound. The one area of the country that has been slow to respond has been the Northeast. However, we've started to see these housing markets turn around, especially in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine."
Many markets in the Northeast are still weak, Kiefer says, but "they're steadily trending in the right direction, and their pace of improvement is accelerating. Overall, the West remains especially strong, with many markets posting double-digit growth in their MiMi purchase-applications indicator compared to a year ago and helping to keep the country on pace for the best year of home sales since 2007."
Source: Freddie Mac
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