Tight inventories and soaring prices have put Dallas near the top of a list of troubled U.S. housing markets.

The Dallas area was the only top 40 U.S. market to get a negative rating in Nationwide Mutual Insurance's quarterly housing market report.

Half of the 10 worst home markets on Nationwide's list were in Texas. Along with Dallas, Victoria, Texarkana, Longview and Sherman-Denison got negative ratings from the big insurer.

North Texas has been getting bad marks from analysts for several years because of the rate of home price growth in the area.

Nationwide's report grades the home markets in each metro area for near-term sustainability based on factors including employment, demographics, the mortgage market and home prices.

"Household formation growth over the past year had a notable uptick this quarter over last, playing a big factor in driving up demand for housing and maintaining a strong market," David Berson, Nationwide senior vice president and chief economist, said in a statement. "We are, however, keeping a close eye on affordability and especially house price appreciation as it is well above the long-term average.

"Regionally, the rankings show positive and healthy housing trends in more than 75 percent of MSAs, suggesting sustainable expansion during the next year."

The areas with strong ties to the energy sector — North Dakota, Texas, Louisiana and Alaska — got the worst marks in the report.

Seattle, Denver, San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego and Oakland were included among the markets where prices are spiking because of the low number of homes available for sale.

That's what put Dallas near the bottom of the rankings, too.

"Dallas is the largest metro area to make the list of tight inventories," Nationwide analysts said. "Home price growth has been near double digits for over five years in a row and has resulted in very low housing affordability."

North Texas home prices have risen by more than 50 percent in the last five years and are at a record high. With a median price of more than $240,000 the Dallas-Fort Worth area for the first time is priced higher than the nationwide median.