The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) reports the number of improving housing markets grew in Feb. to 259, up from 242 markets in Jan., and now includes all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The IMI measures changes in housing permits, employment, and house prices for six consecutive months. “The fact that all 50 states now have at least one metro on the improving list shows that the housing recovery has substantial momentum and continues to expand from one market to the next,” said 2013 NAHB Chairman Rick Judson, as MHProNews has learned. “Just over 70 percent of the 361 metros covered by the IMI are listed as improving this month,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “That’s a far cry from when we initiated this index with just 12 improving metros in September of 2011 for the purpose of highlighting places that didn’t fit the mold of the national headlines.”
