The Dallas-Fort Worth area is one of the top three housing markets in the country, according to a just-released economic report from the Brookings Institution.

The D-FW area ranked third among metro areas that have been the least affected by falling home prices.

Brookings researchers make these claims based on the Federal Housing Finance Agency's quarterly House Price Index, which tracks values of homes mortgaged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. By that measure, home prices in D-FW were up slightly in the first quarter compared with those in the first quarter of 2009. The housing report was part of a comprehensive nationwide study on the economic health of metropolitan areas nationwide. 38 of the top 100 metro areas avoided home price declines over the last year, even as prices nationwide dipped 6 percent.

Best U.S. Housing Markets: 1. Houston, TX 2. Buffalo, NY 3. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 4. Wichita, KS 5. Greenville, S.C.

Worst U.S. Housing Markets: 1. Stockton, CA 2. Las Vegas, Nev 3. Modesto, CA 4. Riverside, CA 5. Cape Coral, FL