A report said that the Phoenix metro area has the fifth-strongest economy in the nation.

According to the Phoenix Business Journal, the Brookings Institute report said the big factor in Phoenix is the recovering housing market. Brookings is an independent research and policy institute based in Washington.

Phoenix ranked second in the nation for housing prices, despite a slight falloff.

Many cities in the western United States performed better than other areas of the nation.

Earlier this year, Phoenix came in ninth on the same list.