The FDIC has an interesting analysis provided by their economists on the varying impact of the recession on the four regions of the US: The 2009 Economic Landscape:
How the Recession
Is Unfolding across
Four U.S. Regions. Of all the alphabet soup of federal agencies and their output on housing and economics, FDIC tends to be the best.

South and West, Sand States – (Sand States?)

>The housing downturn has been most acute in
four states—Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada—
that had experienced some of the highest rates of home
price appreciation in the first half of the decade. While
these states are not all contiguously located, their similar
housing cycles and abundance of either beaches or deserts
have led some analysts to label them “Sand States.”

Midwest, Industrial –

>Although the Industrial Midwest did not experience
the significant home price appreciation of the post-
2001 housing boom to the same degree as other regions,
its residential real estate markets have still suffered.
Existing home sales in the Industrial Midwest declined
33 percent from their second quarter 2005 peak,
roughly in line with the nationwide decline. In 2008,
home prices fell in all of the region’s states, led by
Michigan, where prices declined by more than
10 percent. Further, in half of the Industrial Midwest
states, foreclosure rates are at or slightly higher than the
national rate.

Northeast, Financial Sector –

>Job losses and reduced compensation in New York
City’s financial sector are also having a detrimental
effect across real estate markets. Home prices in the
New York City metro area declined by 9.2 percent on
average in 2008. This year-over-year decline in home
prices was the largest in the 22-year history of these
data, slightly exceeding the previous high recorded in
March 1991. Still, New York City home prices fell
much less during 2008 than in some other major cities,
which saw double-digit declines.

Midsection, Energy and Agriculture –

>Though the economies in the nation’s midsection
continue to perform well relative to the nation, the
downward trends in the energy and agricultural sectors
may weigh on the region in the near future. Moderating
commodity prices are likely to put a damper on the
area’s economic conditions, and the region may not
only cease to be a source of economic strength but also
could enter recession at a much later stage than the
nation.

Download full report from FDIC.