NAHB launches index to track growing housing markets

A new monthly economic index from NAHB will track improving housing markets across the country by evaluating three key economic indicators: employment growth numbers, house price growth data, and single-family housing permit growth data.

The NAHB Improving Markets Index (IMI), which will launch Sept. 7, will rely on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Freddie Mac, and U.S. Census Bureau in each market. To make the list, a metro area must see improvement in all three areas for at least six months following their respective troughs.

Full tables and information related to the Improving Markets Index will be available at www.nahb.org/IMI.