Dive summary:

• The National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) had been rising for seven months, but it's taking a rest in April and holding virtually steady, with five new markets added to the March list and six dropping off because of local downturns in one or more of the three measures it uses.
• April came in at 273 metro areas that have had improving conditions for at least six months in a row in employment growth, house price appreciation, and single-family housing permit growth – all gleaned from federal figures compiled every month.
• David Crowe, NAHB's chief economist, said he expects gains to be more modest than in late 2012 and the first three months of this year because housing is running into some problems that take time to fix, such as a shrinking inventory of building lots and labor shortages because so many workers simply left the business during the prolonged downturn.

From the article:

Newcomers[were] Macon, Ga.; Portland, Maine; Rocky Mount, N.C.; Eugene, Ore.; and Jackson, Tenn. ...