This week’s data feature looks at areas that have started out the year with the strongest price gains.  It is still widely estimated that home prices on a national level will continue to ease, but these locales are on pace to buck the trend.  According to data from Housing IntelligencePro, the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL region saw median home prices increase almost 20% from January of last year.  Home prices in the region likely rebounded as the local economy is slowly recovering and distressed properties are now garnering demand from both primary homebuyers and investors alike.  Three out of the top-six markets were in the state of Texas with San Antonio and Austin at #2 and #3, respectively and Dallas at #7.  The state of Oklahoma was also well-represented with Oklahoma City ranked #4 and Tulsa ranked #5.  The criteria were that markets needed to record at least 500 total new and existing home closings in the month of January to be considered.

All major housing indicators were weak in February, which is not a positive sign for the housing market heading into the key spring home-buying season.  Anecdotes of March home buying activity have been largely underwhelming thus far.  Last week, data releases showed that construction activity plunged to near record-lows in February while a drop in building permit activity suggested that residential construction in the coming months would also remain weak. 

In our data feature this week, we look at another excerpt from the Market Health Report, this time examining which markets are expected to have the best performance in 2011 in terms of median income growth.  Somewhat surprisingly, 4 of the top 5 areas are markets in Florida, and with the top spot going to College Station, home of Texas A&M University.  While incomes in the metro are well below the national average, they fit with the local cost of living.  Income growth is a positive indicator for housing, and is a substantial contributor to why the College Station-Bryan MSA is the 7th Healthiest Housing Market in the country.

While the pace of economic recovery remains uncertain in many areas, there still remain pockets of strength in a number of local housing markets across the country.  Our data feature this week provides some insight on which regions are going to perform the best going forward.  According to the 2011 Market Health report, 6 out of the 20 top healthiest housing markets in the country are in the state of Texas.  In January, the Lone Star State boasted employment growth that was more than double the national growth rate while its unemployment rate was also noticeably lower.  Out of the 6 Texas metropolitan areas in the top-20, 5 had stronger job growth rates than the U.S. as a whole while all 6 had lower unemployment rates.

With our 2011 Market Health Report freshly updated, this week we provide a sneak peak at the top of the ranking.  Or Market Health ranking takes into account all the important factors that contribute to a healthier housing market including unemployment rates, job and income growth, home price appreciation, and others.  Ironically, the housing market that is forecasted to perform the best in 2011 and the one that is expected to perform the worst are both in North Carolina.  Raleigh-Cary, NC recorded a Market Health Indicator reading of 86.9 which was slightly higher than the 86.5 reading by the second-place market of Austin-Round Rock, TX.  The market forecasted to perform the worst was Rocky Mount, NC with a Market Health Indicator reading of only 6.0.  The Market Health Indicator is showing more passing grades out of the 200 largest housing markets across the country than compared to the failing grades we have seen over the past three years.  However, there are still only 22 out of the top-200 housing markets that would have a grade of a C or better if they were being graded on a 100-point scale.

Even though last year was tough for the new home industry, there were a few market areas that experienced gains in both median prices and new home sales volumes when compared to 2009.  Our data feature this week, courtesy of Housing IntelligencePro, looks at those areas which recorded at least 1,000 new home closings over the course of 2010, and made positive progress in terms of both volume and median price.  The list is geographically diverse, ranging from the Midwest to the Hawaii.  The supporting reasons are also equally diverse, once again demonstrating that housing markets are inherently local.  We encourage our subscribers and readers to explore the wealth of reports and information available on each of these areas through Housing IntelligencePro or our online reports section on HousingIntelligence.com.

Continuing our focus on the multifamily segment in advance of the Multifamily Executive Leadership Conference in March, this week our data feature looks at metropolitan areas across the country that recorded the most attached home closings nominally last year and compare them to the results in 2009.  According to data from Housing IntelligencePro, the New York MSA recorded the most attached home closings in 2010, but was off 13% from 2009.  Miami ranked #4, surpassing Los Angeles, and was the only metro area in the top 8 that saw a year-over-year gain in Attached Closings.  While the Miami housing market has experienced more than its fair share of pain through the housing downturn and undoubtedly has plenty of ground left to make up, the turn-about in volume in 2010 is noteworthy.  Other 2010 ranking trends include Seattle falling out of the top 8, and Philadelphia and Baltimore both leapfrogging San Francisco.