Phoenix topped real-estate portal and online valuation service Zillow's list of metro areas expected to achieve growth in home values in 2013 in a report issued Tuesday.

According to Zillow, the Phoenix area is expected to experience a 6.5 percent increase in median home price in 2013 compared with the current year.

The first runner-up was Miami-Fort Lauderdale with an expected median-price increase of 5.6 percent, followed by Tampa with an expected 2.5 percent increase.

According to Zillow, the predictions are based on data from past home-value trends and current market conditions, including leading indicators such as home sales, monthly housing-inventory supply and jobless rate.

An Arizona State University report issued Thursday said the Phoenix area's median single-family-home price was up more than 20 percent in March compared with a year earlier.

The number of foreclosures completed in March was down a whopping 60 percent from March 2011, according to ASU real-estate analyst Mike Orr, who wrote the report.

Orr said new-home sales were up 35 percent in the Phoenix area for the same time period.

Of the 30 major metropolitan areas included in the Zillow forecast, 16 markets were expected to see median home-price increases, while 14 markets were expected to see price declines in 2013.

At the bottom of the list was Atlanta with an expected decrease of 4.1 percent, followed by Chicago with an expected 3.8 percent decrease.

-- J. Craig Anderson