The 2012 National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders’ Show (IBS), though downsized considerably from the glory days of new home construction, can still make a local home and garden spring show look like really small potatoes.

The list of housing markets showing measurable improvement expanded by 29 metro areas in February to include a total of 98 entries on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI). Thirty-six states are now represented by at least one metropolitan market on the list.

The second edition of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) shows 23 individual housing markets now qualifying as “improving” under the new index’s parameters. This is nearly double the 12 housing markets listed last month.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has released its first NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI), a new economic index revealing metropolitan areas that have shown improvement for at least six months in three key economic areas.