As the overall housing recovery gains steam, local market divergences are growing wider. That is because one overriding factor —faulty and fraudulent mortgage lending — brought the market down; it will take varied local and national market drivers — jobs, income growth, consumer confidence, increased lending — to bring it back.
And that is why certain markets remain buyers' markets and certain ones have fast become sellers' markets.
(Read More: US Mortgage Applications Rise in Latest Week; Rates Fall)