According to the National Association of Realtors, a quarterly report was released on Wednesday by Brookings Institute's Metropolitan Policy Program, which listed the top 20 strongest performing metropolitan areas. Most of these cities experienced an increase in manufacturing jobs and only modest declines in home prices.

"While most large metropolitan areas saw growth in output and jobs in the second quarter, it's far too early to open the champagne. The good news isn't all that good," Howard Wial, a Brookings fellow, said in a statement. "We are nowhere near where we were prior to this recession."

The 20 strongest performing metro areas are below:

1. Albany, N.Y.
2. Augusta, Ga.
3. Austin, Texas
4. Baton Rouge, La.
5. Buffalo, N.Y.
6. Dallas
7. Des Moines, Iowa
8. El Paso, Texas
9. Honolulu
10. Houston
11. Jackson, Miss.
12. Kansas City, Mo.
13. Little Rock, Ark.
14. Madison, Wis.
15. McAllen, Texas
16. Oklahoma City, Okla.
17. Omaha, Neb.
18. Rochester, N.Y.
19. San Antonio, Texas
20. Washington, D.C.

Although there have been some recent articles reporting more positive information about the housing market, we still have a long road ahead of us. That being said, this is still a good time to buy a home in San Diego with historically low interest rates around 4.3% for a 30 year fixed and property values down about 30% on average.

If you are thinking about buying or selling a home, then call today at (858) 204-5700 for a complementary comparative market analysis specific to your neighborhood. We are here to help you make the best real estate decisions for you and your family. We also appreciate your referrals!

Source: CNNMoney.com, Annalyn Censky (09/15/2010), National Association of Realtors.