Charlotte Snags Mortgage Risk Honors

Charlotte, N.C., has topped the latest list of housing markets showing signs of improvement over the next two years based on the mortgage risk index maintained by United Guaranty Corp., Greensboro, N.C.The other top-ranked metropolitan statistical areas are: Dallas; Sacramento, Calif.; Las Vegas; and West Palm Beach, Fla. The report is based on UGC's quarterly ACUFactor mortgage risk index, which projects geographic market risk for the top 200 MSAs over the next four to eight quarters, the company said. The index uses a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 representing the least likelihood of further declines in model variables, which include home prices, the local economy, population stability, and mortgage delinquency trends. Charlotte, with a score of 1 in the fourth quarter, had a low annualized home price appreciation rate of 2.3% in the second quarter and has experienced a significant drop in unemployment, UGC said. The other four MSAs had scores of 2 in the latest report. UGC can be found online at http://www.ugcorp.com.