Dive summary:

• The National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) tracks how many U.S. metro areas have had rising employment, housing prices and housing permits for at least six months in a row, and the number grew to 263 as June's numbers came out.
• The net change was plus five metro areas, with 29 new markets meeting the requirements and 24 hitting bumps that knocked them out of the group.
• The Census Bureau has 381 metropolitan statistical areas in the 50 states.

From the article:

"As market conditions improve across most of the country, some metros have moved onto the IMI list while marginal seasonal fluctuations have nudged others off of it," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. ...