Freddie Mac released its April 2015 Multi-Indicator Market Index this week, indicating significant housing market improvements nationwide in several states and individual metro areas. This article from DS News summarizes the results.
More than half of the states plus the District of Columbia, along with more than a third of the nation’s largest metro areas, were categorized as in the “stable” range in April on the strength of a healthy spring homebuying season, according to Freddie Mac’s April 2015 Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi).
In addition to 26 states that fell in the stable range, 35 of the nation’s top 100 metro areas had a MiMi value in the stable range in April.
“We saw a significant improvement in housing markets nationwide, with ten more metro areas and nine more states moving within range of their benchmark, stable level of housing activity,” said Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac’s Deputy Chief Economist. “The West and Southwest areas of the country continue to lead the way, especially Colorado, Oregon and Utah, and California is right there as well. Unlike a year ago, when the most improving markets were those hardest hit by the Great Recession, we’re now seeing stable markets among the most improving as well. So the strong housing markets are getting stronger, which reflects the better employment picture, rising home values and increased purchase activity in these markets with the spring homebuying season in full swing.”
Freddie Mac’s report of more stabilization nationwide in the housing market was right in line with the GSE’s economic outlook for June 2015, released just one day earlier, which showed that Americans may be ready to take on more mortgage debt due to low debt servicing costs and improved household balance sheets.
