Atlanta, Charlotte, Boston, Denver and Dallas were the cities that fared relatively well when the US housing bubble went bust: housing prices in these cities, until 2010, had only declined 10-20%, much better than the 50% average price drop in cities like Phoenix, Miami and Las Vegas.

But the recent price trend is worrisome: prices in these markets started to decline, sometimes at a faster pace than national average. The extreme example is Atlanta.  Last year, the price in the southern city dropped 12%, the largest yearly drop among all major cities.  (see the dynamic chart below, from NYT).

It remains to be seen whether the price dropping in these cities will pick up and eventually catch up with the national average. The key focus lies on how soon the labor market is likely to recover. Without jobs and robust income growth, more people will be forced out their homes, which will lead to another round of price decline.

Folks at CalculatedRisk also have a very nice chart showing the cumulative housing price declines by cities.

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