5 U.S. Cities Making Big Turnarounds

Realtor.com's Naples-area listings range in price from $14,500 for a one-bedroom foreclosure to a $19.9 million six-bedroom estate.

Fourth-best turnaround market: Boise, Idaho
Median list price: $149,900

Idaho's capital saw median asking prices on Realtor.com increase 17.5% over the past year, to $149,900, while the number of unsold listings tumbled 36.9%, to about 2,600.

Median time on the market also dropped 23.6%, to 68 days, while the local unemployment rate fell to 8.2% from 10.1% in the same period last year.

Boise has a diversified employment base, with semiconductor firm Micron Technology(MU) , privately held forestry-products maker Boise Cascade and Boise State University all calling the city home.

Berkowitz says improved jobs numbers and a fairly low foreclosure rate are helping the 616,000-population metro area's housing market.

"There's also a good family atmosphere that attracts jobs, which in turn attracts homebuyers," he says.

If you're looking to buy a piece of your own private Idaho, Realtor.com's Boise-area listings start at $19,900 for a one-bedroom short-sale home and run to $3 million for a four-bedroom downtown penthouse condo.

Third-best turnaround market: Orlando, Fla.
Median list price: $145,000

Disney World's hometown was hard hit by Florida's real estate collapse and foreclosure crisis, but conditions appear to be stabilizing.

The number of unsold Orlando properties listed on Realtor.com tumbled 41.6% over the past year to 10,624 units, while median asking prices rose 11.5%, to $145,000. Time on market also fell 38.5%, to 64 days, while the local jobless rate has dropped to 8.6% from 10.4% a year earlier.

"Orlando was an area that was quite distressed, but now it's a place where people see tremendous value," Berkowitz says.

Still, problems remain.