Home sales down. But six cities defy housing gloom.

Home sales plunged in July and housing prices may dip again. But in six metropolitan areas, the housing picture is far brighter: Home values are rising and median prices are already well ahead of their peak during the housing bubble. Is your city on the list?

4. Elmira, N.Y.

Mel Evans/AP/File
Worker Pete Cioffi of Albany, N.Y., rolls out a protective covering under a threatening sky on a hillside at a highway construction site on Route 17 near Elmira, N.Y., on July 1. With an improving economy, Elmira's employment now stands at a 17-month high. Its housing prices have surged 14 percent beyond its housing bubble peak.

Huge restored Victorian homes. Cheap housing prices. What's not to like about Elmira, N.Y.?

A lot of people may be asking themselves that because, when it comes to real estate, Elmira is shining. It's median home price has risen from $86,800 at the peak of the housing peak to $99,200 in the second quarter of 2010. That's a 14 percent rise, one of the largest increases of any metro area in the United States, and half the homes sell for under $100,000.

The metro area's image may suffer because it includes two maximum security prisons, but the city's crime rate last year was at a 10-year low and the number of jobs is at a 17-month high. The unemployment rate is significantly below the national average.

And the area is trying to capitalize on its connections to Mark Twain (he summered there and is buried in Elmira) and the sport of gliding (it hosted the first national contests in the 1930s and '40s and is now home to the National Soaring Museum).

Elmira also has restored a historic carousel that it claims is the fastest in the world, spinning at 18 miles per hour.

Click on right arrow to see next item.

4 of 6
You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.