Housing Markets Improve as Local Markets Develop: Freddie Mac

Housing markets are steadily improving nationwide, according to the latest Freddie Mac's Multi-Indicator Market Index.

Freddie Mac's national index stood at 79.2, at the end of May. That's up 0.71% from April, and a 2.09% improvement from three months prior. The index has improved 4.35% from a year earlier.

"More markets continue improving," Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac's deputy chief economist, said in a news release. "We are getting back to more normal times where local housing markets develop based on their own unique economies."

The Multi-Indicator Market Index, or MiMi, measures the stability of the housing market nationwide, as well as the housing market in 50 states and the District of Columbia, and the 100 largest metro markets.

The report showed that 26 states and the District of Columbia have MiMi values within a stable range. The District of Columbia has the highest value at 100.5, followed by North Dakota, Montana, Hawaii and California.

Fresno, Calif., has the highest Mimi value among metro areas, at 95.8, followed by Honolulu; Austin, Texas; Los Angeles; and Salt Lake City.