Seattle has become a world-class city with a diverse, vibrant economy. As a home to manufacturers, such as Boeing, and software providers, such as Microsoft, the job market has held up better than average, with December's unemployment rate sitting at 9.1%.
Home prices had a softer landing as well, dropping just 18.1% over the past three years, about half the national average, according to Fiserv and Moody's Economy.com.
In the next six months prices are expected to grow 1%. After that, the market should gain momentum. By September 2011, the city could see a price gain of 5.5%.
And while that may not sound all that robust for those jaded by the annual double-digit returns recorded during the boom, that performance will be one of the best of any large city during that period.
NEXT: Fairbanks, Alaska
* Between September 2009 and September 2011
