There has never been a home buying market quite like this. Mortgage rates are historically low, there is a surplus of property and homeowner's have been discounting their asking price to keep up the competitive market. Potential homebuyers are warned to look before they leap as not all home buying markets are created equally.

Nation's Riskiest Cities

Home prices have been slashed nationally, however despite the discounts potential homebuyers need to approach the purchase with caution. Recently, Forbes.com compiled a list of the ten riskiest cities for homeowners using data provided by Lender Processing Services (LPS), a mortgage industry service provider based in Jacksonville, Florida. The results are based an analysis of the 100 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the nation and the percentage of borrowers who behind on their mortgage payments by three months or more. The dishonor of being one of the nation's riskiest cities for homeowners goes to:

• Fresno, California: 7.02 percent of loans are 90 or more days late
• Miami, Florida: 7.05 percent of loans are 90 or more days late
• Memphis, Tennessee: 7.11 percent of loans are 90 or more days late
• Orlando, Florida: 7.18 percent of loans are 90 or more days late
• Vallejo, California: 7.60 percent of loans are 90 or more days late
• Bakersfield, California: 8.55 percent of loans are 90 or more days late
• Modesto, California: 8.83 percent of loans are 90 or more days late
• Stockton, California: 9.40 percent of loans are 90 or more days late
• Riverside, California: 9.71 percent of loans are 90 or more days late
• Los Vegas, Nevada: 9.86 percent of loans are 90 or more days late

According to Forbes " ...severe delinquencies can be more revealing than the rate of foreclosures for showing how many homeowners are at risk of losing their homes." All the cites mentioned have been previously associated with being mini-epicenters for the boom and bust cycle that recently occurred in the real estate industry.

Best Housing Bets

Along with the bad there is some good as in some cities home prices are rising. CNNMoney.com has spotted some real estate market diamonds in the rough. According to the source the following cities stand the best chances of recovery compared to anywhere else in the country:

• San Francisco, California, Median Home Price $675,000: The city by the bay is flush with culture, gourmet food, public transportation, trolley cars and the Golden Gate Bridge. Supply and demand is fueling this trend and CNNMoney.com reported that available properties have"... already dropped by nearly in half over the past year," thus generating an expected home value increase of 4.8 percent in 2011.
• Seattle, Washington, Median Home Price $371,000: Seattle has a healthy economy as compared to the rest of the nation's city. Because of the large array of locally based Fortune 500 companies such as people are moving to town to find work. That trend is expected to increase Seattle property values by 3.8 percent by the end of 2011.
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Median Home Price $122,000: Steel City has a flourishing local economy stimulated by booming service industry. More people are expected to flock to town and that could increase home values by 2.2 percent over the next few years.
• Rochester, New York, Median Home Price $119,000: CNNMoney.com as stated that Rochester was never truly impacted by the mortgage meltdown, and that had experts predicting a 2.2 percent increase in local property values.
• Memphis, Tennessee Median Home Price: $108,000: Local home values in the "Bluff City" are expected to increase by a nominal 1 percent over the next couple of years.

Mortgage News

Hopefully the above information has renewed your interesting in becoming a homebuyer, but there are still precautions consumers must take. Step one includes crunching the numbers to find out what is the maximum mortgage you can afford is crucial. Only after you determine how much home you can afford should the task of actually locating a mortgage begin.

The latest mortgage news has shown that mortgage interest rates are at historic lows and general hover in the 4.5 percent area. Locking into a traditional 30 year fixed rate mortgage now can end up saving consumers thousands of dollars over the lifetime of their loan. Mortgage Marvel has the latest technology to provide you with the current mortgage rates in real time and without requiring your private information.