In most parts of the country, single-family homes are solid financial investments. The median price for an existing home has increased 7.4 percent the past year.

Housing prices vary from region to region, but according to the National Association of Realtors quarterly survey, the median home price across the nation was $150,900 in the first quarter of 2002, up from $139,700 in the first quarter last year.

The highest jump in home values occurred in Worcester, Mass. Single-family home prices increased 25.2 percent, followed by Atlantic City, N.J., at 21.8 percent and Providence, R.I., at 19.3 percent. Home values fell the sharpest in Beaumont, Texas. Values in this Texas city, the hometown of country star George Jones, fell 8.1 percent followed by declines of 7.6 percent in Peoria, Ill., and 6.3 percent in Springfield, Mo.

Want to see how home values fared in your neighborhood? This chart shows the median price in thousands of dollars. It compares home values from the first quarter of 2001 with the first quarter of 2002. Not all cities reported their information, so some major metropolitan areas are left out.

Median home prices: 2001 - 2002
ALABAMA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Mobile	94.7	115.4	21.9%
ARKANSAS	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Little Rock/N. Little Rock	91.9	91.9	0%
ARIZONA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Phoenix	135.5	141.7	4.6%
Tucson	117.2	137.6	17.4%
CALIFORNIA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Orange County (Anaheim/Santa Ana MSA)	337.5	372.0	10.2%
Los Angeles area	225.2	265.0	17.7%
Riverside/San Bernardino	143.8	164.7	14.5%
Sacramento	161.5	185.7	15.0%
San Francisco Bay Area	484.3	482.3	-0.4%
COLORADO	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Denver	210.0	233.8	6.6%
CONNECTICUT	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Hartford	145.0	156.5	7.9%
New Haven/Meriden	159.1	173.5	9.1%
DELAWARE	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Wilmington	133.6	136.2	1.9%
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Washington, D.C.	183.7	229.1	19.8%
FLORIDA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Daytona Beach	90.4	103.0	13.9%
Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood/Pompano Beach	157.4	181.2	15.1%
Fort Myers/Cape Coral	110.4	124.7	13.0%
Gainesville	114.0	124.7	9.4%
Jacksonville	101.1	108.5	7.3%
Melbourne/Titusville/Palm Bay	99.0	99.6	0.6%
Miami/Hialeah	152.0	172.5	13.5%
Orlando	118.0	127.5	8.1%
Pensacola	98.9	109.5	10.7%
Tallahassee	128.7	133.1	3.4%
Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater	118.5	127.9	9.5%
West Palm Beach/Boca Raton/Delray Beach	139.4	159.1	14.1%
GEORGIA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Atlanta	136.0	140.6	3.4%
HAWAII	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Honolulu	280.0	310.0	10.7%
IDAHO	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Boise City	130.2	130.0	-0.2%
ILLINOIS	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Aurora/Elgin	175.9	185.5	5.5%
Champaign/Urbana/Rantoul	92.5	95.1	2.8%
Chicago	184.3	198.0	7.4%
Lake County	169.8	184.5	8.7%
Peoria	87.5	81.2	-7.2%
Rockford	95.4	97.9	2.6%
Springfield	80.3	83.9	4.5%
INDIANA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Fort Wayne	91.7	89.9	-2.0%
Gary/Hammond	104.9	104.2	-0.7%
Indianapolis	111.0	111.9	0.8%
South Bend/Mishawaka	85.1	84.3	-0.9%
IOWA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Cedar Rapids	112.5	113.2	0.6%
Davenport/Moline/Rock Island	88.9	89.0	0.1%
KANSAS	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Topeka	76.8	91.0	18.5%
Wichita	91.7	95.7	4.4%
KENTUCKY	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Lexington/Fayette	116.8	125.3	7.3%
LOUISIANA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Baton Rouge	111.5	110.4	-1.0%
New Orleans	111.4	116.5	4.6%
Shreveport	85.0	87.5	2.9%
MAINE	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Portland	118.9	128.0	7.7%
MARYLAND	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Baltimore	147.6	165.0	11.8%
MASSACHUSETTS	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Boston	345.1	358.0	3.7%
Springfield	119.4	129.7	8.6%
Worcester	136.0	170.3	25.2%
MICHIGAN	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Grand Rapids	121.7	121.6	-0.1%
Kalamazoo	114.1	110.7	-3.0%
Saginaw/ Bay City/Midland	80.6	83.1	3.1%
MINNESOTA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Minneapolis/St. Paul	151.0	173.0	14.6%
Fargo/Moorhead, N.D./Minn.	96.4	102.9	6.7%
MISSISSIPPI	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Biloxi/Gulfport	94.3	95.6	1.4%
MISSOURI	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Kansas City, Mo./Kan.	130.4	133.5	2.4%
Springfield	95.8	89.8	-6.3%
NEBRASKA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Lincoln	110.8	113.7	2.6%
Omaha	113.1	118.7	5.0%
NEVADA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Las Vegas	142.7	153.1	7.3%
Reno	162.4	175.2	7.9%
NEW JERSEY	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Atlantic City	109.8	133.7	21.8%
Bergen/Passaic	268.7	295.8	10.1%
Middlesex/Somerset/Hunterdon	231.5	269.5	16.4%
Monmouth/Ocean	196.4	219.1	11.6%
Newark	243.4	279.2	14.7%
Trenton	161.6	154.6	-4.3%
NEW MEXICO	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Albuquerque	126.2	129.4	2.5%
NEW YORK	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Albany/Schenectady/Troy	116.6	127.5	9.3%
New York metro (incl. N. N.J., Long Island and Conn.)	236.3	285.6	20.9%
NORTH CAROLINA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Charlotte/Gastonia/Rock Hill, NC/SC	141.0	145.5	3.2%
Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point	130.3	134.2	3.0%
Raleigh/Durham	163.4	169.1	3.5%
NORTH DAKOTA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Fargo/Moorhead, N.D./Minn.	96.4	102.9	6.7%
OHIO	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Akron	110.0	103.7	-5.7%
Cincinnati	127.1	131.3	3.3%
Dayton/Springfield	108.1	106.1	-1.9%
OKLAHOMA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Oklahoma City	92.6	103.1	11.3%
Tulsa	99.5	103.7	4.2%
OREGON	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Eugene/Springfield	132.1	135.9	2.9%
Portland	170.3	175.7	3.2%
PENNSYLVANIA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Philadelphia	123.4	122.0	-1.1%
Pittsburgh	90.6	94.4	4.2%
RHODE ISLAND	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Providence	142.2	169.6	19.3%
SOUTH CAROLINA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Charleston	147.5	153.8	4.3%
Columbia	112.0	116.7	4.2%
Greenville/Spartanburg	119.1	122.4	2.8%
TENNESSEE	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Chattanooga	99.9	111.9	12.0%
Knoxville	109.4	117.2	7.1%
Memphis	122.4	123.9	1.2%
TEXAS	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Amarillo	87.7	84.7	-3.4%
Austin/San Marcos	148.4	157.3	6.0%
Beaumont/Port Arthur	83.6	76.8	-8.1%
Corpus Christi	88.8	89.4	0.7%
Dallas	122.7	130.8	6.6%
El Paso	86.6	86.4	-0.2%
Houston	118.3	126.5	6.9%
San Antonio	98.0	104.0	6.1%
VIRGINIA	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Richmond/Petersburg	127.2	129.2	1.6%
WASHINGTON	2001 ($000s)	2002 ($000s)	% Change
Seattle	235.7	247.6	5.0%
Spokane	100.2	104.6	4.4%
WEST VIRGINIA	2001