MGIC Market Trends Index Slips

The single-family housing market was stable in the fourth quarter, but more areas of the country are showing softness, according to Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp.'s national Market Trends Index.The index stood at 6.70 for the quarter, down from 6.90 for the third quarter and 6.92 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 decline in the index from its peak follows a 22-quarter period in which the national MTI stayed above '7', reflecting one of the strongest runs that both the U.S. economy and the nation's housing markets have ever seen," said Neil Siegel, senior market analyst for the Milwaukee-based mortgage insurer. The company looked at 73 metropolitan statistical areas and found seven to be strong, seven weak, and the rest stable. MGIC can be found on the Web at http://www.mgic.com.