Freddie Mac just released its Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi) showing improvements in the stability of the U.S. housing market. MiMi keeps track of the nation’s housing market by measuring its stability in all fifty states, Washington D.C. and the top 100 metropolitan markets. Although the beginning of 2015 showed a fairly weak housing market, Freddie Mac’s new report offers a refreshing ray of hope.
To date, thirty-five states and the District of Columbia have reached MiMi’s stable range with the recent addition of Florida and Arizona. In comparison, only twenty states and D.C. were in the stable range the same time last year. The top five states listed on MiMi include Utah (94), Montana (95.6), Hawaii (96.2), North Dakota (96.7) and the District of Columbia (102.5). The most improved states in the past year include Nevada (+12.54%), Washington (+12.58%), Colorado (+14.09%), Oregon (+15.64%) and Florida (+16.59%).
As far as the housing market in the top 100 metropolitan areas, fifty-six areas have now reached MiMi’s stable range compared to only twenty-eight areas at the same time last year. The top five ranked metro areas include Los Angeles, CA (97.2), Salt Lake City, UT (97.4), Honolulu, HI (98.2), Denver, CO (98.3) and Austin TX (98.8). The most improved metro areas this year are Denver, CO (+17.72%), Portland, OR (+18.20%), Tampa, FL (+18.51%), Cape Coral, FL (+19.16%) and Orlando, FL (+20.33%).
Freddie Mac also reported that over 230,000 first-time homebuyers made purchases last year, which is the highest since 2007. Best of all, these positive numbers reflect steady improvements in the economy and homebuyer’s confidence.
