Housing Markets Stalling
May 28 2014 - 10:00AM
Marketwired
Housing Markets Stalling
MCLEAN, VA--(Marketwired - May 28, 2014) - Freddie Mac (OTCQB:
FMCC) today released its Multi-Indicator Market Index(SM)
(MiMi(SM)) showing the U.S. housing market overall largely flat
compared to the prior month and especially since last year at this
time. Of those markets that are improving or experiencing a stable
range of housing activity, most are benefiting from the energy boom
taking place along the country's mid-section.
News Facts:
- The national MiMi value stands at -3.06 points indicating a
weak housing market overall with only a slight improvement (+0.03
points) from February to March and a 3-month flat trend (+0.05
points). However, on a year-over-year basis, the U.S. housing
market has improved by 0.66 points. The nation's all-time MiMi low
of -4.49 was in November 2010 when the housing market was at its
weakest.
- Ten of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia are in their
stable range with North Dakota, Wyoming, the District of Columbia,
Alaska, and Louisiana ranking in the top five and unchanged from
last month.
- Four of the 50 metro areas are in their stable range, San
Antonio, New Orleans, Austin and Houston.
- The five most improving states month-over-month are Ohio
(+0.12), Rhode Island (+0.11), Illinois (+0.10), Texas (+0.10) and
South Carolina (+0.09). From one year ago the most improving states
remained unchanged: Florida (+1.83), Nevada (+1.60), South Carolina
(+0.99), California (+0.97) and Texas (+0.96).
- The five most improving metro areas month-over-month are
Cincinnati (+0.11), Columbus (+0.11), Houston (+0.10), Riverside
(+0.10), and San Antonio (+0.10). From one year ago the most
improving metros remained unchanged: Miami (+2.37), Orlando
(+1.91), Las Vegas (+1.71), Tampa (+1.57), and Riverside
(+1.44).
- Overall, in March, 13 of the 50 states plus the District of
Columbia are improving based on their three month trend, and 20 of
the 50 metros show an improving trend.
Quote attributable to Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank
Nothaft:
"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. 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 homeowners are underwater, but in areas where supply
is constrained, they're creating an imbalance and pricing out many
first-time homebuyers."
MiMi monitors and measures the stability of the nation's housing
market, as well as the housing markets of all 50 states, the
District of Columbia, and the top 50 metro markets. MiMi combines
proprietary Freddie Mac data with current local market data to
assess where each single-family housing market is relative to its
own long-term stable range by looking at home purchase
applications, payment-to-income ratios (changes in home purchasing
power based on house prices, mortgage rates and household income),
proportion of on time mortgage payments in each market, and the
local employment picture. The four indicators are combined to
create a composite MiMi value for each market. Monthly, MiMi uses
this data to show, at a glance, where each market stands relative
to its own stable range of housing activity. MiMi also indicates
how each market is trending, whether it is moving closer to, or
further away from, its stable range. A market can fall outside its
stable range by being too weak to generate enough demand for a
well-balanced housing market or by overheating to an unsustainable
level of activity.
For more detail on MiMi see the FAQs. MiMi is released at 10
a.m. EDT monthly. The most current version can be found at
FreddieMac.com/mimi.
Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide
liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation's residential
mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the
nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Today Freddie Mac
is making home possible for one in four home borrowers and is one
of the largest sources of financing for multifamily housing.
Additional information is available at FreddieMac.com, Twitter
@FreddieMac and Freddie Mac's blog FreddieMac.com/blog.
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