Seattle is one of the top turnaround real estate markets of 2012, according to the Trulia Price Monitor, reports Forbes. Las Vegas and Seattle posted year-over-year gains of 16.3% and 10.2% in 2012, respectively, following Phoenix, which led the nation with a price increase of 26.0%. Tacoma, Wash., made the top 10 with a 4.0% rise.

Nationally, asking prices increased 0.7% in December from the month before, marking the tenth gain in a 12-month period and culminating in a 5.1% year-over-year increase. The Trulia Price Monitor and the Trulia Rent Monitor have tracked national and local trends of home prices and rents on a monthly basis since April 5, 2012.

In the coming year, some realtors anticipate that residential real estate may shift from a buyer's to a seller's market due to tight inventory. Supply in some regions of the nation are not keeping pace with demand. Pending sales fell 4.3 percent in December 2012 from the prior month, according to a monthly index from the National Association of Realtors, reports CNBC. However, the index ended 6.9 percent higher than December of 2011.