LIVELIFELOUD

#10 Olympia, Wash.

Market Health Indicator: 33.3

With a population of nearly a quarter million, Olympia is one of the smallest of the top 100 markets. But the state capital, located about 60 miles from Seattle, is also among the strongest. Olympia’s housing correction has been a mild one; at $184,000, existing home prices remain above 2004 levels. Even so, a state government hiring freeze, enacted in 2008, has curtailed employment here, and the unemployment rate is now running at 9.9%. Though new households are still forming, median income levels have fallen 8.5% during the last year. Olympia also happens to be the home of Scott Homes, named Builder of the Year by the NAHB Research Center for its work building energy-efficient homes.

Nice, and props to Scott Homes!!