10 Best Housing Markets Right Now

Thanks to 2012, the year that housing turned the corner, we finally saw home values begin to climb for the first time in years. And now we're seeing them take off. According to Zillow, home values rose 5.8 percent across the country between February 2012 and February 2013, but some local markets are doing much better than the rest of the nation. Using this data, 24/7 Wall St. determined the 10 best housing markets where home values rose the most between the first quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013.

Zillow also provided data regarding expected growth from the first quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014, the number of homes sold in February, as well as the change in the number of homes sold from a year earlier. Unemployment rates -- which went down in all of the top 10 areas -- as of February 2013 were taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data on when home prices peaked and the percentage decline since that time was based on median home value from Fiserv. These are the 10 hottest markets in the country right now.

%Gallery-187125%
See more on 24/7 Wall St.:
9 Cities Where Renting Makes No Sense
America's 9 Most Damaged Brands
America's Fattest Cities

More on AOL Real Estate:
Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.
Find homes for sale in your area.
Find foreclosures in your area.
Find homes for rent in your area.

Follow us on Twitter at @AOLRealEstate or connect with AOL Real Estate on Facebook.