In the US, many smaller cities and individual real estate markets seem to be steady, even with all the worry from the country's housing slip.

There is little doubt that some locations, such as California and Nevada are seeing a drop in housing purchases. There is no doubt that foreclosures are very high in locations like Detroit and Cleveland. Yet, for many individual housing markets in the country, the news is not so bad.

In locations in New York as well as in Massachusetts, these facts can be seen clearly. For example, in Greater Binghamton, prices increased to US $128,114 in 2007 which was nearly a US $10,000 gain from the year before. According to the Greater Binghamton Association of Realtors the median selling price for homes in this area was US $95,000 in the year ending December 2006 and US $110,000 in 2007.

The country has a whole has not fared as well with a decrease of 1.9 per cent on existing homes and 2.1 per cent on new homes seen. This data is from the National Association of Realtors.

The most likely home buyers to benefit from these markets are first time home buyers looking for affordable opportunities to get into a home in good areas. There are many available properties available and prices are still low and affordable. Interest rates are very low, too.

While the big picture may seem bleak in some markets, others are seeing a long steady growth that is more natural and expected rather than the booms of other regions. Investors that wish to make safer investments will do well to consider these smaller markets individually.