Freddie Mac: Housing is Mostly Steady

The U.S. housing market remains on solid footing in most markets, according to data released by Freddie Mac in its latest Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi) report.

The national MiMi value, as of January, stands at 82.7, a 0.18 percent monthly uptick as well as a 1.46 percent quarterly increase and a 7.57 percent year-over-year growth. Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia registered MiMi values within range of their benchmark averages, with the District of Columbia (101.8), North Dakota (96), Hawaii (95.6), Montana (95.1) and Utah (94.5) ranking in the top five.  Fifty-six of the top 100 metro areas also had MiMi values within range, most notably Denver (99.8), Austin (99.1), Salt Lake City (97.7), Honolulu (97.6), and Los Angeles (96.9).

Nonetheless, Freddie Mac warned that “pockets of weakness” persisted in the Great Lakes region and in Southern states except for Florida and Texas.

Freddie Mac Deputy Chief Economist Len Kiefer greeted the data with a cautious warning on the lingering problems related to housing affordability.

“Despite a stronger jobs market and declining unemployment, wage gains have not kept pace with house prices putting a pinch on homebuyer affordability,” he said. “In the top 100 metro areas MiMi tracks, Los Angeles and Honolulu have elevated payment-to-income indicators and Miami, FL, is very close to elevated. An additional six metro areas have their MiMi payment-to-income indicators over 100, indicating that the payment-to-income statistic for that area is above its historic benchmark … Mortgage rates fell at the start of the year, helping to bolster affordability heading into the spring season. But a lack of available inventory of for-sale homes has constrained many markets. We see that reflected in the MiMi purchase applications indicator, which remains weak nationwide.”