Phoenix Leads nation for Increasing Sales

Property values are down, but in some cities sales are up because motivated sellers are slashing prices and buyers are getting deals.

“There's a pretty active housing market, it's simply at a lower-priced inventory," says Michael Feder, chief executive of Radar Logic, a New York derivatives firm.

In San Diego, Calif., transactions are up 90 percent as buyers compete for available bargains.

"Unlike stocks, housing has intrinsic value," says Barry Ritholtz, chief market strategist of Ritholtz Research, a New York research firm. "Outside of Love Canal or Detroit, house prices do not go to zero."

Here are the cities where sales are up the most in the last three months:

• Las Vegas
• Sacramento, Calif.
• San Diego, Calif.
• Los Angeles
• Detroit
• Phoenix
• San Francisco
• Washington, D.C.
• San Jose, Calif.
• Atlanta

Source: Forbes, Matt Woolsey (01/12/2009)