Zillow.com looked at the largest metro areas to identify the most stable housing markets. It focused on identifying a city in each metro where home values had appreciated for at least three straight quarters, the rate of home sales was healthy and foreclosure rates were lower than the metro area. Zillow limited the results to cities with more than 10,000 residents. Some large metros, including Phoenix, Ariz.; Portland, Ore.; and Seattle, Wash., did not have a city of 10,000 that met the criteria.
Bethel Park, Pa.
Median home value: $155,100
Average change (2010): 1.2%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 3.1%
Pittsburgh, Pa., metro area
Homes are worth 40% more in Bethel Park than in the Pittsburgh metro area as a whole.
Bloomfield Township, Mich.
Median home value: $252,900
Average change (2010): 2.3%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 5.1%
Detroit, Mich., metro area
Homes in this affluent suburb of Detroit are worth three times more than the homes in the metro area.
Brookline, Mass.
Median home value: $489,500
Average change (2010): 2.2%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 6.0%
Boston, Mass., metro area
There have been no foreclosures in Brookline in the past month. The Country Club, located here, has hosted three U.S. Opens as well as the Ryder Cup in 1999.
Chino Hills, Calif.
Median home value: $464,600
Average change (2010): 2.1%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 4.7%
Riverside, Calif., metro area
The Chino Hills housing market has outperformed the Riverside metro area, where prices are up 0.6% this year and homes are worth an average $193,300.
Coral Springs, Fla.
Median home value: $213,800
Average change (2010): 2.8%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 7.0%
Miami, Fla., metro area
Coral Springs is the best of the lot in a bad Miami housing market that continues to struggle with high foreclosure rates and has seen metro area home values decline a further 4.5% in 2010.
Cranston, R.I.
Median home value: $181,200
Average change (2010): 3.3%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 3.4%
Providence, R.I., metro area
The 3.3% gain in Cranston home values in 2010 is the biggest increase of any city that made our stable housing markets list.
Crofton, Md.
Median home value: $381,400
Average change (2010): 1.2%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 3.9%
Baltimore, Md., metro area
This planned community of 30,000 outside Baltimore was established in 1964. Home values are 65% higher than in the Baltimore metro overall.
Cupertino, Calif.
Median home value: $1,051,500
Average change (2010): 2.3%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 6.5%
San Jose metro area
As the home of Apple’s headquarters and more than 20,000 of its employees, Cupertino home values are among the highest in the U.S.
Edina, Minn.
Median home value: $325,900
Average change (2010): 2.0%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 4.3%
Minneapolis, Minn., metro area
Edina home values have gained significantly in the second and third quarters of 2010, after a slow start to the year.
Gaithersburg, Md.
Median home value: $305,900
Average change (2010): 1.3%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 5.8%
Washington, D.C., metro area
The federal government and top local employers including IBM and the National Institute of Standards and Technology keep the housing market in Gaithersburg stable.
Grapevine, Texas
Median home value: $219,000
Average change (2010): 1.7%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 4.0%
Dallas, Texas, metro area
Grapevine serves as the corporate home for videogame retailer GameStop. Home values are 67% higher than in the Dallas metro as a whole.
La Grange Park, Ill.
Median home value: $273,000
Average change (2010): 0.7%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 2.3%
Chicago, Ill., metro area
Home values in tiny La Grange Park are up only slightly in 2010, but they compare favorably to the overall Chicago metro area, where values have declined each quarter this year.
Lafayette, Calif.
Median home value: $891,900
Average change (2010): 1.9%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 3.5%
San Francisco, Calif., metro area
California has been hammered by foreclosures, but tiny Lafayette (population: 24,000) has been relatively immune with a foreclosure rate of only 1 in 4,808.
Lemon Grove, Calif.
Median home value: $264,000
Average change (2010): 1.8%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 6.2%
San Diego, Calif., metro area
Home values in Lemon Grove are lower than the San Diego metro area (median value: $370,600), but they have increased twice as fast in 2010.
Maitland, Fla.
Median home value: $219,700 (Sept.)
Average change (2010): 3.2%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 4.3%
Orlando, Fla., metro area
Home values have fallen 2.6% on average in Orlando this year, making Maitland and its 3.2% gain one of the bright spots in the area.
Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Median home value: $1,218,800
Average change (2010): 1.0%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 3.9%
Los Angeles, Calif., metro area
Manhattan Beach is the priciest city to make our list, and its median home value is almost three times the typical home in the Los Angeles metro.
New Brunswick, N.J.
Median home value: $232,800
Average change (2010): 1.0%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 3.8%
New York, N.Y., metro area
New Brunswick home values are cheap compared with the rest of the vast New York metro (median price: $362,000), but they have risen three straight quarters, compared with three straight quarters of declines for the New York metro overall.
Sandy Springs, Ga.
Median home value: $335,800
Average change (2010): 2.5%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 3.7%
Atlanta, Ga., metro area
The home value decline in Atlanta has accelerated since the tax credit expired in April, but in affluent Sandy Springs home value gains have increased since the credit lapsed.
Warminster, Pa.
Median home value: $287,700
Average change (2010): 1.5%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 2.8%
Philadelphia, Pa., metro area
Home values in Warminster have been on the rise this year, while they have declined each quarter in the Philadelphia metro overall.
Westlake, Ohio
Median home value: $199,700
Average change (2010): 2.2%
Percentage of homes sold (annualized): 3.7%
Cleveland, Ohio, metro area
Cuyahoga County has struggled with foreclosures, but in Westlake they are almost non-existent, with only 1 in 9,259 homes facing foreclosure over the past month.
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