Bubble burst? What bubble burst? The danger in talking about local situations as if they applied across the board is that real estate is always a local situation and what's a bubble bursting in one area can be a time someone else's balloon is expanding rapidly.

Take a look at these metro areas that were the biggest value gainers in 2006, according the National Association of Realtors.

2006 biggest value gainers

Rank Metropolitan statistical area One-year appreciation (%) 1 Salem, Ore. 19.8 2 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C. 19.4 3 Spokane, Wash. 17.7 4 Salt Lake City, Utah 16.7 5 Eugene-Springfield, Ore. 16.7 6 Baton Rouge, La. 15.9 7 Gainesville, Fla. 15.9 8 Ocala, Fla. 15.5 9 Dover, Del. 14.7 10 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Ore.-Wash. 14.7