Housing Markets That Took the Biggest Hit in 2010

The jury’s still out on whether the housing market is on its way to recovery—but these 10 cities felt the brunt of the pain last year.

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. This Southern California county’s housing market took the biggest hit in 2010 and saw median home prices plunge 13.5%.

Salinas, Calif. ‘The Salad Bowl of the World’ isn’t churning out the green in pre-recession sums as housing prices in the area fell 13.4% during 2010.

Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Ariz. Arizona’s housing market was hit hard by the subprime crisis, particularly the Phoenix area that saw home prices drop 12.8% last year.

Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall Fla. These Southern Florida towns continue to feel the pains of a housing market riddled with defaults and overpriced properties. Median home values sank 12.7% in 2010.

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla. A constant flow of tourists to its major theme parks wasn’t enough to save the greater-Orlando area’s housing market: home prices fell 12.7%.

West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton, Fla. This area couldn’t’ escape the subprime fiasco as housing prices dropped 12.3% during 2010.

Las Vegas-Paradise Nev. Sin City and the surrounding suburbs fell victim to overdevelopment last year, which contributed to home prices sinking 11.4%.

Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla. This central Florida region followed the trend throughout most of the state as housing prices dropped 10.8% during the past year. (Reuters)

Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach Fla. The fifth Florida town in the list saw its housing prices slide 10.6%.

Oakland –Fremont-Hayward Calif. The California area on the east side of San Francisco experienced a 10.1% drop in housing prices