The U.S. is a wonderful country; it’s not without its set of problems like any other country, but wonderful nonetheless. Moreover, analysts continuously debate about whether or not the real estate market is back on track. What you should know is that 10 housing markets definitely are more secure than other ones.

Utilizing Every Resource

How is this possible to know? Zillow Market Health Index, a new housing gauge pinpoints the current health of a region’s housing market relative to other markets across the nation.

The criteria for assessing this data is relatively simple; the index combines 10 measures capturing some very specific things, such as the financial health of homeowners, home value movements and the time homes stay on the market.

What happens next? It then assigns a value for each region ranging from zero to 10. As a matter of fact, if a metro area has a value of eight on the Market Health Index, the metro is healthier than 80 percent of all metro areas that are covered by Zillow in the U.S. Another key piece of information you need to know is as the market continues to change, so does its data. Keep your fingers crossed and see if your market made the list.

City/State:

1. San Jose, Calif.

• Market Health Index: 9.04
  Share of Homes Sold for Gain: 86 percent
  Mortgages in Negative Equity: 7.6 percent
  Days on Market: 45;

2. San Francisco, Calif.

• Market Health Index: 8.85
  Share of Homes Sold for Gain: 86 percent
  Mortgages in Negative Equity: 12.4 percent
  Days on Market: 47;

3. Los Angeles, Calif.

• Market Health Index: 8.64
  Share of Homes Sold for Gain: 86 percent
  Mortgages in Negative Equity: 13.2 percent
  Days on Market: 65;

4. San Diego, Calif.

• Market Health Index: 8.41
  Share of Homes Sold for Gain: 81 percent
  Mortgages in Negative Equity: 14.7 percent
  Days on Market: 61;

5. Denver, Colo.

• Market Health Index: 8.1
  Share of Homes Sold for Gain: 86 percent
  Mortgages in Negative Equity: 11.9 percent
  Days on Market: 62;

6. Boston, Mass.

• Market Health Index: 7.43
  Share of Homes Sold for Gain: 57 percent
  Mortgages in Negative Equity: 12 percent
  Days on Market: 83;

7. Pittsburgh, Pa.

• Market Health Index: 7.37
  Share of Homes Sold for Gain: 87 percent
  Mortgages in Negative Equity: 12.1 percent
  Days on Market: 103;

8. Portland, Ore.

• Market Health Index: 6.49
  Share of Homes Sold for Gain: 80 percent
  Mortgages in Negative Equity: 16.9 percent
  Days on Market: 66;

9. New York, N.Y.

• Market Health Index: 6.01
  Share of Homes Sold for Gain: 79 percent
  Mortgages in Negative Equity: 17.3 percent
  Days on Market: 146;

10. Sacramento, Calif.

• Market Health Index: 5.99
  Share of Homes Sold for Gain: 79 percent
  Mortgages in Negative Equity: 23.4 percent
  Days on Market: 64.

Source: Zillow Market Health Index

Web Links:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/12/22/10-healthiest-housing-markets-in-america/4158631/;

http://www.zillow.com/blog/research/2013/12/13/zillow-market-health-index/.

-Kimberly Williams