Washington D.C. and the surrounding areas in Maryland and Virginia saw something in September that not many places across the country have seen; an increase in home prices. Unfortunately, while the prices increased, the median sale price did fall a bit.

Sales were up almost 19% in September in the area from just a year ago; with the median sale price declining almost 5% to $371,568.

Houses in D.C. are also selling for most of what the owner is asking. The average sale price in the area was 92% of the asking price.

Seeing any area, particularly a large metro area gaining in sales of homes is a pretty good (and not outrageous) sign that the economy is doing a bit better than it was a year ago. Then again, a year ago, credit had completely frozen as the subprime crisis really took off.

As banks have begun to lend again, more homes have started to sell. As the homes start to sell, prices will gradually begin to rise again. The rise will be in areas where there are jobs and every list that I’ve read says the jobs are in Washington D.C. due to the amount of government jobs as well as all of the large companies that are headquartered there.

When I was in Maryland over the summer, it didn’t seem like the recession had hit there as bad as it looked in other parts of the country I have seen in the last year. For example, while Chris and I were in St. Louis in August, restaurants were basically empty at dinner time. It’s not like we were going to obscure places either. The only restaurant I noticed was busy the entire time we were there was a Cheesecake Factory in one of the larger malls in the area. In Maryland, everything was always busy it seemed. Shopping centers were full of cars usually and there weren’t a lot of empty businesses making it look like a ghost town.

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Topping the list is Wyoming. Wyoming has a 3.4% unemployment rate, the lowest in the country, due to oil and gas exploration. It also boasts coal mining as one of its largest contributors to employment figures.

Texas is next.

The Lone Star state isn’t so lonely anymore. This low-tax, low-regulation, low-wage state, attracts plenty of businesses, says Cal State’s Bland. (Major employers include AT&T, Dell and ExxonMobil. The job opportunities and low cost of living help keep college students in Texas post-graduation, he says. The state is also home to three metropolitan areas that saw the biggest increase in employment in the country in 2008: Houston, Dallas and San Antonio (in that order). Austin came in fifth. Should the stimulus package pass, expect to see even more jobs in energy and infrastructure, says Milken’s DeVol.

The D.C. and Northern Virginia area falls in third. D.C. has a higher than average unemployment rate (at 8.8%), but when you put into consideration the metro area including northern Virginia cities Alexandria and Arlington the rate falls to 4.7%. The area benefits from government work and if the stimulus bill should pass, this area would benefit by the creation of government administrative jobs.

Utah is another on the list

Utah’s unemployment rate is the fifth lowest in the country at 4.3%. Graduates from its two most popular universities – Brigham Young University and the University of Utah – are launching start-up companies that develop medical devices and software, says DeVol. Some of the state’s largest employers include medical facility operator Intermountain Health Care and computer equipment maker Novell. The state could benefit from the stimulus’s planned increase in spending on health care, breeding opportunities for both nurses and those in information technology, says DeVol.

Oklahoma has its capital city to thank for its rank on the list.

Oklahoma’s employment outlook is a far cry from that of the Dust Bowl era. Known for producing and distributing wheat, corn and cotton, the state reaped some nice profits from its agricultural roots last year, says Bland. It was also helped by its exposure to the oil and natural gas industries. Not only that but the state’s capital, Oklahoma City, currently boasts a 4.6% unemployment rate, the lowest of all the larger metropolitan areas. Some of the state’s big employers include Devon Energy, Chesapeake Energy and utility company Oklahoma Gas & Electric, a  unit of energy-services provider OGE Energy. The stimulus bill could add an extra jolt to the state’s energy sector, which could help create posts for engineers and technicians positions, says DeVol.

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Perhaps the reason is customers want to shop at stores that aren’t disheveled, and where they can actually find an item they’re looking for…oh yea…the internet.

Have you seen any malls going out of business around you?