10 Cities Projecting Home Value Increases Through 2013

Nationwide, the U.S. housing market is showing signs of recovery. Home prices are rising as demand for homes outweighs existing home supply in many metropolitan regions.

As is customary in real estate, though, the degrees to which home values change vary by area.

In some U.S. markets, the housing recovery is outpacing the national average. In other markets, it lags. In an effort to measure the changes, CNNMoney has named the 10 U.S. housing markets in which home prices may rise the fastest.

The list is stuffed with small- to mid-size cities, most of which have experienced huge price drops since the housing market's peak in 2007. The cities are gems, however, for the right type of home buyer. This may include real estate investors, first-time buyers, move-up buyers, and even parents with children in need of "college housing".

As listed by CNNMoney, the 10 cities in which home values are rising fastest are :

1. Madera, CA (Down 53.1% from peak; Forecast 21.5% gain through 2013)
2. Medford, OR (Down 37.1% from peak; Forecast 20.1% gain through 2013)
3. Yuma, AZ (Down 37.4% from peak; Forecast 16.7% gain through 2013)
4. Corvallis, OR (Down 11.4% from peak; Forecast 13.2% gain through 2013)
5. Eugene, OR (Down 21.2% from peak; Forecast 12.4% gain through 2013)
6. Olympia, WA (Down 26.3% from peak; Forecast 11.3% gain through 2013)
7. Boise, ID (Down 36.9% from peak; Forecast 11.0% gain through 2013)
8. Billings, MT (Down 3.0% from peak; Forecast 10.1% gain through 2013)
9. Lewiston, ID (Down 7.5% from peak; Forecast 10.0% gain through 2013)
10. Sante Fe, NM (Down 17.1% from peak; Forecast 10.0% gain through 2013)

These 10 cities are more diverse in their make-up than their geography. All ten can be found in the western half of the United States. However, whereas some cities are expected to excel as a result of proximity of universities -- Eugene and Corvallis, for example -- others are expected to excel for economic reasons.

This includes cities such as Yuma, which is in a Foreign Trade Zone.

Real estate remains a local market, though, and even within these ten cities, there will exist neighborhoods in which growth exceed national averages, and areas in which growth falls behind.

For accurate, real-time real estate data in Renton , be sure to speak with a real estate professional.

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Ranking The Best Places To Live In The U.S. (2011 Edition)

CNNMoney recently released its Best Places To Live 2011 list.

The annual survey is based on data from Onboard Informatics. Using Quality of Life factors such as education, crime and "town spirit", and focusing on towns with between 8,500 and 50,000 residents, the CNNMoney survey ranks the country's best "small towns".

To be eligible, towns must be have a median household income greater than 85 percent, and less than 200 percent of the state median income; must not be a categorized as a "retirement community"; and must be racially-diverse.

From a list of 3,570 eligible towns nationwide, Louisville, Colorado was ranked #1.

The complete Top 10 Best Places to Live as cited by CNNMoney, and their respective average home listing prices :

1. Louisville, Colorado ($383,569)
2. Milton, Massachusetts ($577,008)
3. Solon, Ohio ($291,162)
4. Leesburg, Virginia ($486,018)
5. Papillion, Nebraska ($218,520)
6. Hanover, New Hampshire ($643,500)
7. Liberty, Missouri ($177,678)
8. Middleton, Wisconsin ($347,770)
9. Mukilteo, Washington ($345,487)
10. Chanhassen, Minnesota ($418,607)

Rankings like these can be helpful to home buyers nationwide, but it's important to remember that the Best Place To Live survey is subjective. You may find none of the above towns to be to your liking.

You may also find the lowest-ranked city to be your favorite.

In other words, before making a decision to buy, connect with a real estate agent who has local market knowledge. That's the best, most reliable way to make sure you get the housing data that matters to you.

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