10 Hard-Hit Housing Markets That Are Ready to Rebound - Tacoma!

After slumping, home prices in these 10 cities are expected to rise over the next three to five years

As the historic housing crash continues to hammer real estate prices from coast to coast, many homeowners probably can't remember the last time their property's value actually increased. But even with home prices still falling at the national level, a number of hard-hit housing markets are gearing up for a rebound.

To pinpoint the cities most likely to go from slump to bump, we turned to Moody's Economy.com. Using S&P/Case-Shiller home price data, Moody's identified a handful of cities that took it on the chin during the crash-with property values dropping by more than 25 percent from peak to projected trough--but are expected to see strong home price appreciation in the relatively near future.

Celia Chen, the senior director of housing economics at Moody's Economy.com, says home prices in many of these slump-to-bump cities became overvalued during the first half of the decade but have since fallen, or are in the process of falling, to extremely affordable levels. "That will encourage buyers back into the market and lift prices up," she says. Here is a look at 10 hard-hit housing markets that are ready for a rebound:

1. Tacoma, Wash.: With about 200,000 residents, Tacoma is the second-largest city in Washington's lovely Puget Sound region. The city's abundance of government jobs, bountiful outdoor activities, and proximity to Seattle--just 32 miles away--helped drive home prices higher during the first half of the decade. But as the national housing crash picked up steam, Tacoma saw its real estate market decline sharply. Home prices in Tacoma dropped 24 percent from their peaks through the first quarter of 2009. Still, Moody's Economy.com expects the market to bounce back strongly, with home prices increasing 22 percent by the first quarter of 2012 and 41 percent by the first quarter of 2014. David Graybill, president and chief executive of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, says the area's large military presence and diversified economy will help to support rising home prices going forward. "We also have one of the nation's busiest ports, the Port of Tacoma, which is an international deep-water port," Graybill says. "And although most international trade is down currently, the long-term outlook is good."

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