Overall, recent housing reports have shown that the housing market is picking up across the country.

"Excluding distressed sales, home prices in March and April are improving at a rate not seen since late 2006 and appreciating at a faster rate than during the tax-credit boomlet in 2010," says Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. "Nationally, the supply of homes in current inventory is down to 6.5 months, a level not seen in more than five years, in part driven by the ‘locked in’ position of so many home owners in negative equity."

Source: “CoreLogic: Phoenix Leads the Nation in Home Value Gains,” Phoenix Business Journal Online (June 5, 2012)’