The energy boom states continue to have some of the most-improved housing markets, with North Dakota and Wyoming leading the pack, according to Freddie Mac’s latest Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi), which guages the nation’s housing stability by measuring 50 metros.
Overall, the U.S. housing market was mostly flat in March, but a few metros saw gains that brought them back to more normal historical averages, according to Freddie Mac’s index.
“Less than half of the housing markets MiMi covers are showing an improving trend, whereas at this same time last year, more than 90 percent of these same markets were headed in the right direction,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “We’re hopeful that many of these markets that have stalled will start moving again now that mortgage rates have eased over the past month and the spring home-buying season is upon us. House-price gains are a double-edged sword at this stage of the recovery: They help those hard-hit markets where prices are still low and many home owners are underwater, but in areas where supply is constrained, they’re creating an imbalance and pricing out many first-time home buyers.”
Ten of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, are considered in their stable range. The states that ranked in the top 5 as being most stable are:
North Dakota
Wyoming
District of Columbia
Alaska
Louisiana
Meanwhile, the five most-improved states month-over-month are:
Ohio
Rhode Island
Illinois
Texas
South Carolina
The five most-improved metro areas month-over-month are:
Cincinnati, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Houston
Riverside, Calif.
San Antonio
Source: Freddie Mac
