MGIC Market Trends Index

The single-family housing market remained stable in the second quarter, according to Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp.'s national Market Trends Index.The index stood at 6.63 for the quarter, up slightly from a revised 6.60 for the first quarter but down from 6.85 a year ago. The index uses a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the strongest. MGIC said a reading of 6 to 8 indicates a stable market. "The housing sector continues to support the economy," said Neil Siegel, senior market analyst for the Milwaukee-based mortgage insurer. "Home prices are rising in most markets; however, the rate of appreciation has slowed. The slower rate of home price appreciation is associated with the lack of job growth, rising unemployment, and concern with consumer credit quality." The company looked at 73 metropolitan statistical areas and found seven to be strong, 10 weak, and the rest stable. MGIC can be found on the Web at http://www.mgic.com.