Since hitting its weakest point in September 2011, the housing market has made a 23.3 percent rebound, according to Freddie Mac’s most recent Multi-Indicator Market Index. The index – which measures local housing markets in all 50 states based on several fundamentals, including home purchase applications, payment-to-income-ratios, and proportion of on-time mortgage payments – found that most markets, though still weak, are trending upward. Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said as we see the economy slowly normalizing we’re starting to see its effects in the housing market as well. In fact, according to Nothaft, the bigger housing markets – some of which were among the hardest hit – continue to improve. Evidence of that improvement can be seen in recently released housing data showing positive gains in existing-home sales, new residential construction, and builder confidence. After a disappointingly slow start to the year, local markets are getting a boost from encouraging economic data and an increasingly stable job market. More here.