AVERAGE MARKET:
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Metro area population: 5,306,125
Median home price: $378,000
12-month change in home value: -18.5
Affordability index: 4/10
Homes sold in 2008: 63,100
Home value compared to national average: +89
Top employer: Federal government, George Washington University

While sales are still high, an overabundance of new homes in the Washington suburbs has lowered values. Northern Virginia's Prince William County is among the hardest hit by the subprime crisis in the country, with 865 foreclosures so far this year -- four times more than neighboring Fairfax County.

Homes in D.C. proper, however, have retained their value. This is because the city has little undeveloped land for new homes to be built, thus preventing speculation.