Ten northwest cities are listed in the latest National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI). The NAHB/First American IMI is designed to track housing markets throughout the country that are showing signs of improving economic health. The northwest cities in the index are Corvallis, Medford, Portland, Bellingham, Kennewick, Longview, Seattle, Spokane, Wenatchee, and Yakima.
The Improving Markets Index measures three sets of independent monthly data to get a mark on the top improving Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The three indicators that are analyzed are single-family housing permit growth from the U.S. Census Bureau, house price appreciation from Freddie Mac, and employment growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. NAHB uses the latest available data from these sources to generate a list of improving markets. A metropolitan area must see improvement in all three measures for at least six consecutive months following those measures’ respective troughs before being included on the improving markets list.
| Metropolitan Statistical Area | Permits Through Date | Growth From Through | Prices Through Date | Growth From Through | Employment Through Date | Growth From Through |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wenatchee, WA | 04/30/12 | 16.3% | 03/31/12 | 1.1% | 08/31/10 | 1.8% |
| Yakima, WA | 04/30/12 | 12.5% | 01/31/12 | 3.9% | 08/31/10 | 2.9% |
| Medford, OR | 10/31/11 | 7.6% | 02/29/12 | 5.0% | 09/30/10 | 4.6% |
| Kennewick, WA | 03/31/09 | 3.9% | 10/31/11 | 3.1% | 12/31/07 | 8.7% |
| Seattle, WA | 03/31/09 | 3.2% | 01/31/12 | 12.9% | 02/28/10 | 6.0% |
| Portland, OR | 02/28/09 | 3.0% | 01/31/12 | 9.2% | 12/31/09 | 4.1% |
| Corvallis, OR | 01/31/12 | 2.8% | 12/31/11 | 3.8% | 07/31/09 | 5.2% |
| Spokane, WA | 03/31/09 | 2.1% | 12/31/11 | 3.2% | 12/31/11 | 1.4% |
| Longview, WA | 05/31/10 | 2.1% | 01/31/12 | 2.2% | 06/30/11 | 0.9% |
| Bellingham, WA | 07/31/10 | 1.4% | 02/29/12 | 2.8% | 08/31/10 | 7.6% |
