10 cities where housing is still a buyer's market

Tight housing inventory has led to rising home prices and stiff competition among house hunters in much of the country. But in some cities, homebuyers still have the advantage in negotiations.

"With reduced inventory and appreciating home prices an issue in much of the country, real estate market conditions are challenging. Many markets have become overheated, but there are still markets where smart buyers can find more affordable homes," Phil Karp, senior manager of brokerage services at Owners.com, said in a press release.

To rank the housing markets with the best deals for buyers, the online real estate brokerage's research team recently examined regional averages of each of the following categories, weighing them in importance: the difference in the prices homes are listed and sold at (30%), homeowner equity levels (25%), outstanding inventory (20%), the number of days on the market (15%) and the change in monthly rental cost compared to the previous year (10%).

On average, the price of homes in these 10 areas is $297,794, which is $35,330 below the national average and $16,375 lower than what the houses originally listed for. And in all of these markets, the average monthly payment needed to rent a home is rising, making homeownership look more attractive.

Owners.com, a division of Altisource, compiled the data used to rank the 10 regions from public and private sources, including the U.S. Census and aggregated information from First American. Only metropolitan areas with more than 1 million people living in them were included in the ranking.

Sale/listing price difference: -$15,982
LTV: -7.83%
Listed inventory: 1,523
Days on market: 98
Rental cost change: $31