The buy-sell method as an indicator of trends works well for home prices because it shows a significant amount of upward momentum in the market, Pro Teck Valuation Services said in its Home Value Forecast (HVF).

The HVF examines how many of the national metropolitan areas are experiencing housing recoveries, while exploring various short-term housing indicators that gauge the market by identifying turn points.

“The outlook for the residential real estate market in 2013 is quite different from a year ago. A number of important metros have experienced significant price increases in the past year as the available inventory of homes for sale has decreased by double-digit rates and buyer sentiment has improved markedly,” said Tom O’Grady, CEO of Pro Teck Valuation Services.

The top best performing metros for January included Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.; and Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla.

“A number of Texas markets have been in the Top 10 list for a number of months and did not experience meaningful price corrections since their prices were never extended,” said Michael Sklarz, principal of collateral analytics and contributing author to Home Value Forecast.

The worst performing metros for January included Boise City-Nampa, ID;Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR; and Syracuse, NY.

“The bottom-ranked metros also represent an interesting mix with two being in the greater New York-New Jersey-Connecticut area. Most have high single or double-digit months of remaining inventory,” Sklarz said.