Short List

Location Really Does Matter

Housing markets in 96 percent of the U.S. counties tracked by RealtyTrac are better off today than they were in 2010, but just 8 percent are better off than they were in 2006 at the height of the housing boom.

The RealtyTrac study analyzed four key categories of housing market health: home price appreciation, affordability, percentage of bank-owned (REO) sales and the unemployment rate. The 410 counties analyzed in the report account for 63 percent of the U.S. population.

“Home prices in three-fourths of the counties analyzed are still below 2006 levels, but low inventory has helped home prices accelerate past pre-recession levels in some markets like Seattle, San Francisco, Denver and Oklahoma City,” says Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “Those rapid home price gains are causing a concerning drop in affordability rates in some cities, but homebuilders and homeowners with regained equity should help provide more supply to balance out many of those markets in 2014.”