With a housing market on the mend in many areas, some cities are experiencing big increases in home prices.

In 2012, prices rose in 82 of the 100 largest metros, compared with just 12 metros seeing price increases in 2011. The 2012 price turnaround was strongest in the West and Southwest, where steady job growth and vanishing inventories lifted home prices by more than 10 percent in many markets.

The following are the five best “turnaround” housing markets in the real estate recovery, including the year-over-year change in asking prices, according to Trulia’s research.

•  Phoenix – Year-over-year change in asking prices (Dec. 2012): 26 percent
• Las Vegas – Year-over-year change: 16.3 percent
• San Jose, Calif. -Year-over-year change: 16.1 percent
• Oakland, Calif. -Year-over-year change: 12.7 percent
• Seattle -Year-over-year change: 10.2 percent