The housing affordability index rose to 174.8 in April from an upwardly revised 171.9 in March, and was the second highest monthly reading on record after peaking at 176.9 in January of this year. According to Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, the total number of home sales is expected to improve but with dramatic local market variation in the timing of the recovery. “The market has already bottomed in some areas, but this is an unusual housing cycle with some areas improving rapidly while others languish or decline,” Yun said. On the flip side, the Adversity Index from MSNBC.com and Moody’s Economy.com reported signs of a turnaround in 33 of the nation’s metro areas. While that’s less than 10% of all metro areas, it’s still significant, says economist Andrew Gledhill of Economy.com. He also feels there are signs that builders are growing modestly more confident about their prospects.
