The housing markets in most of these cities missed the bubble and bust altogether, and home prices continued to climb steadily after the national market went bust. These cities have diversified their economies, enjoy rising population and job growth, and have relatively low rates of unemployment and foreclosure.

The cities on this list that did go bust, such as Cape Coral, Naples and Sarasota, Fla., are beginning to recover, although home prices may still be bouncing around the bottom as buyers (particularly investors) dash in to nab bargains. The likelihood of continued double-digit price increases is slim, especially as more foreclosures come to market.

All of the metropolitan areas we've ranked have a population of at least 200,000. Change in home prices reflects the one-year period through September 30, 2011, when the national average was -2.6% and the median home price was $171,250. We also report the change since the national peak in home prices, in the second quarter of 2006. Sales and inventory numbers were drawn from the most current market reports (October or November 2011). Unemployment rate is as of October 2011, when the national average was 8.5%. Foreclosure rate is as of September 30, 2011, when the national average rate was 1 of every 213 housing units, or 0.47%.

Find out which 12 metro areas have housing markets where home prices have held up the most.