Portland housing market ranked fourth best

Forbes magazine has reviewed the latest S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index which shows a record 18.5% drop from the previous year. Portland ranks as the fourth strongest market in the country.

Forbes analyzed monthly declines and year-over-year declines in home prices to determine where prices were falling fastest and where those drops were picking up momentum. It's not a good thing for San Diego that prices from November 2008 to December 2008 fell 2.13%, but as prices declined by 2.29%from October to November, and 2.44% from September to October, the speed with which prices are falling is slowing.

That slowing rate of decline — also seen in places such as Denver, Washington, D.C. and Boston — helped rank those cities as some of the stronger markets in the country.

Five best housing markets:

1. New York
2. Washington DC
3. Charlotte, NC
4. Portland, Ore
5. San Diego, Ca

Five worst housing market:

1. Las Vegas
2. Phoenix
3. Detroit
4. Minneapolis
5. San Francisco