Nationwide, the U.S. housing market is showing signs of recovery. Home prices are rising as demand for homes outweighs existing home supply in many metropolitan regions.

As is customary in real estate, though, the degrees to which home values change vary by area.

In some U.S. markets, the housing recovery is outpacing the national average. In other markets, it lags. In an effort to measure the changes, CNNMoney has named the 10 U.S. housing markets in which home prices may rise the fastest.

The list is stuffed with small- to mid-size cities, most of which have experienced huge price drops since the housing market’s peak in 2007. The cities are gems, however, for the right type of home buyer. This may include real estate investors, first-time buyers, move-up buyers, and even parents with children in need of “college housing”.

As listed by CNNMoney, the 10 cities in which home values are rising fastest are :

1. Madera, CA (Down 53.1% from peak; Forecast 21.5% gain through 2013)
2. Medford, OR (Down 37.1% from peak; Forecast 20.1% gain through 2013)
3. Yuma, AZ (Down 37.4% from peak; Forecast 16.7% gain through 2013)
4. Corvallis, OR (Down 11.4% from peak; Forecast 13.2% gain through 2013)
5. Eugene, OR (Down 21.2% from peak; Forecast 12.4% gain through 2013)
6. Olympia, WA (Down 26.3% from peak; Forecast 11.3% gain through 2013)
7. Boise, ID (Down 36.9% from peak; Forecast 11.0% gain through 2013)
8. Billings, MT (Down 3.0% from peak; Forecast 10.1% gain through 2013)
9. Lewiston, ID (Down 7.5% from peak; Forecast 10.0% gain through 2013)
10. Sante Fe, NM (Down 17.1% from peak; Forecast 10.0% gain through 2013)

These 10 cities are more diverse in their make-up than their geography. All ten can be found in the western half of the United States. However, whereas some cities are expected to excel as a result of proximity of universities — Eugene and Corvallis, for example — others are expected to excel for economic reasons.

This includes cities such as Yuma, which is in a Foreign Trade Zone.

Real estate remains a local market, though, and even within these ten cities, there will exist neighborhoods in which growth exceed national averages, and areas in which growth falls behind.

For accurate, real-time real estate data , be sure to speak with a real estate professional.