North Dakota; Washington, D.C.; and Wyoming rank as the most
stable U.S. housing markets, according to a new Freddie Mac gauge that weighs
criteria including mortgage applications, income ratios and employment.
Freddie Mac's Multi-Indicator Market Index released on
Wednesday measures the stability of states and the U.S. capital, as well as the
top 50 metropolitan areas. Nationally, the measure shows an improving housing
market that's still outside its healthy range, the McLean, Va.-based company
said in a statement.
"We're making progress, we're recovering but we're not
all the way there yet," Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac,
said in a phone interview. "Some places are much closer and others have
farther to go."
