Home prices: blast from the past

According to John Burns Real Estate Consulting, housing prices are returning to conditions of earlier years in some parts of the country.

Of the markets where median prices have returned to 2006 and prior years, the Texas region has fared the strongest, with Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio grouped in 2006. These markets have benefited from a strong employment base, lower distress levels and a general absence of the abnormal appreciation rates experienced in many other parts of the county.

While Texas and other select markets rank on the more positive end, there are a handful of markets such as Atlanta, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Oakland where prices have turned back the clock more than a decade. Elevated levels of distress, heavy employment losses and large booms of sprawling development are common themes.

For an interactive map detailing the home price time warp: www.realestateconsulting.com/content/USBMI-201108