Median home price: $224,000
Drop since market peak: 17.7%
Forecast gain by 9/2012: 2.5%
New Haven lies within (long) commuting distance of jobs in New York and Fairfield County, Conn., and it boasts a world-renowned university and several important teaching hospitals. There are also lots of secure, well-paying jobs, with the median family income in 2009 topping $80,000. That has helped the economy maintain a fairly even keel.
Home prices are reasonable for the Northeast and considerably lower than the prices in towns closer to New York. As the national economy recovers and home values in more easterly Connecticut towns heat up, New Haven prices should also rise.
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Last updated February 07 2011: 5:51 PM ET
Source: Fiserv; based on cities with a population of 500,000 or more.