With the local economy and housing activity performing roughly 39% better in the third quarter of this year than it was during pre-recession “normal” levels, Baton Rouge continued to top the National Association of Home Builders/First American Leading Markets Index in the latest quarterly report, released today.
Baton Rouge has consistently topped the index in each quarter of this year for metro areas with a population of 500,000 or more. Baton Rouge’s index score has hovered around 1.4 all year, indicating the market is doing roughly 40% better than the historical norm. The local metro area is one of 59 among the approximately 350 included in the index that are performing better today than they were pre-recession. The national average on the index is 0.90, indicating the nation as a whole is still only performing at 90% of the historical normal.
“Nearly half of all the markets on the Leading Markets Index are up since August, which is a good sign that the ongoing housing recovery will keep moving forward in 2015,” says Kurt Pfotenhauer, vice chairman of report co-sponsor First American Title Insurance Co., in a prepared statement.
To compile the index score, average permit, price and employment levels are analyzed in each metro area and compared to the previous 12 months. For permits and home prices, 2000-2003 is the benchmark for the last normal level; for employment, the base comparison year is 2007. NAHB has more details on the index and metro rankings.
