Median home price: $176,000
Drop since market peak: 3%
Forecast gain through 2013: 10.1%
Located on a rolling prairie, 600 miles from any city near its size, Billings' isolated location is the key to its prosperity, said Century 21 real estate broker Mark Dawson.
Residents of the vast surrounding area flock to the city's retail stores, hospitals and its airport. In addition, many of the workers come through Billings on their way to jobs in the oilfields of
North Dakota.
Those factors have kept the housing market strong throughout the bust. Home prices in Billings are down just 3% from the 2006 peak. As a result, fewer homeowners are underwater on their loans and foreclosures have been a rarity, said Dawson.
Last fall, home sales started picking up and now the one time glut of high-end homes costing more than $400,000, has dried up. With inventory low, home building is starting to percolate. Dawson said the number of homes built by developers grew 112% during the first quarter compared with 12 months earlier.
NEXT: Lewiston, Idaho
