"The states - including North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Alaska - have economies more dependent on the energy, industrial or agricultural sectors, stronger parts of the U.S. economy. Their home prices, in general, didn't rise as much as in other states in the boom years, so they've fared better in the wake of the crash. Their unemployment rates tend to best the national average.
'Housing is a mess all over the place, but it's less of a mess in some places,' says Jim Diffley, regional housing economist for IHS Global Insight."
North Dakota actually saw more houses sold than at the height of the market in 2006.
