America's Most Polluted Cities

The American Lung Association has issued its annual State of Air report.

Here is the related article:

http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/28/real_estate/most_polluted_cities/index.htm?postversion=2009042912

http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/28/pollution-ozone-air-lifestyle-health-ozone-pollution.html

Here is the summary of America's most polluted cities:

The nation's 10 most polluted cities in terms of ozone.

City	State	Average ozone level (2005-2006)
Los Angeles	CA	138.8
Bakersfield	CA	110.5
Visalia-Porterville	CA	101.2
Fresno-Madera	CA	62.7
Houston	TX	53.7
Sacramento	CA	49.7
Dallas	TX	38.8
Charlotte	NC	37
Phoenix	AZ	36.5
El Centro	CA	32.8

The nation's 10 most polluted cities by amount of particulates.

Metro area	State	Average particles level (2005-2007)
Bakersfield	CA	20.3
Pittsburgh	CA	19.8
Visalia	CA	19.3
Birmingham	AL	18.9
Hanford	CA	17.6
Fresno	CA	17.4
Cincinnati	OH	17.3
Detroit	MI	17.2
Los Angeles	CA	17.1
Cleveland	OH	16.8

While this data does not have direct correlations with real estate price, I certainly want to avoid living in these cities.

As for the LA, I found air fairly clean near the coast. But in inland, it is quite bad. In terms of that, it has correlations with real estate price!

Happy Investing!!!

Mercer Quality of Living Index 2009

Mercer Consulting, the leading human resource and compensation consulting firm, has annouced 2009 Quality of Living Index.

Mercer has analyzed 420 cities worldwide and indexed each cities and used New York City as bench mark (100).

Its methodology is:

- Political and Social environment
- Economy environment
- Cultural environment
- Health and Cleanness
- Educational environment
- Infrastructure
- Recreation
- Consumer goods avaiablity
- Living environment
- Natural environment

Because of it, this index has the following tendancies (in my opinion).

1) Mid sized cities does better than large cities.
2) "Cold" weather places tend to do better.
3) Non-American cities with lots of expats tend to do better.
4) English speaking cities tend to do better.
5) After all, it is ranking for expats with family -- not for everyone.

Here is the ranking of Top 50 cities.

- European (especially in Switzerland and Germany) and Canadian cities dominate top 20 cities.

- Top 5 in USA is Honolulu, San Francisco, Boston, Portland and Washington DC.

- While it is not listed in below ranking, the worst city is Baghdad with 14. If you are sent to Baghdad, make sure that you demand at least 6 times of your current salary for your "hardship"!

Mercer Quality of Living Survey - Worldwide Rankings, 2009
Base City: New York, USA (=100)
Rank	Rank	City	Country	QoL Index 2009	QoL Index 2008
2009	2008
1	2	Vienna	Austria	108.6	107.9
2	1	Zurich	Switzerland	108.0	108.0
3	2	Geneva	Switzerland	107.9	107.9
4	4	Vancouver	Canada	107.4	107.6
4	5	Auckland	New Zealand	107.4	107.3
6	6	Dusseldorf	Germany	107.2	107.2
7	7	Munich	Germany	107.0	107.0
8	7	Frankfurt	Germany	106.8	107.0
9	9	Bern	Switzerland	106.5	106.5
10	10	Sydney	Australia	106.3	106.3
11	11	Copenhagen	Denmark	106.2	106.2
12	12	Wellington	New Zealand	105.9	105.8
13	13	Amsterdam	Netherlands	105.7	105.7
14	14	Brussels	Belgium	105.4	105.4
15	15	Toronto	Canada	105.3	105.3
16	19	Ottawa	Canada	105.0	104.7
16	16	Berlin	Germany	105.0	105.0
18	17	Melbourne	Australia	104.8	104.8
19	17	Luxembourg	Luxembourg	104.6	104.8
20	20	Stockholm	Sweden	104.5	104.5
21	21	Perth	Australia	104.3	104.3
22	22	Montreal	Canada	104.2	104.2
23	23	Nurnberg	Germany	104.1	104.1
24	24	Oslo	Norway	103.7	103.7
25	25	Dublin	Ireland	103.6	103.5
26	32	Singapore	Singapore	103.5	102.9
26	25	Calgary	Canada	103.5	103.5
28	27	Hamburg	Germany	103.4	103.4
29	28	Honolulu	United States	103.1	103.1
30	29	San Francisco	United States	103.0	103.0
30	29	Helsinki	Finland	103.0	103.0
30	29	Adelaide	Australia	103.0	103.0
33	32	Paris	France	102.9	102.9
34	34	Brisbane	Australia	102.4	102.4
35	35	Tokyo	Japan	102.2	102.2
35	37	Boston	United States	102.2	101.8
37	36	Lyon	France	101.9	101.9
38	38	Yokohama	Japan	101.6	101.6
38	38	London	United Kingdom	101.6	101.6
40	40	Kobe	Japan	100.9	100.9
41	41	Milan	Italy	100.8	100.8
42	48	Portland	United States	100.6	100.2
42	42	Barcelona	Spain	100.6	100.6
44	44	Washington	United States	100.3	100.3
44	44	Osaka	Japan	100.3	100.3
44	44	Lisbon	Portugal	100.3	100.3
44	44	Chicago	United States	100.3	100.3
48	43	Madrid	Spain	100.2	100.5
49	49	New York City	United States	100.0	100.0
50	50	Seattle	United States	99.8	99.8

For your reference, below is Top 5 Cities by the regions.

Top 5 cities - Americas
- Vancouver, Canada (tied 4th)
- Toronto, Canada (15th)
- Ottawa, Canada (16th)
- Montreal, Canada (22nd)
- Calgary, Canada (26th)

Top 5 cities - Asia Pacific
- Auckland, New Zealand (tied 4th)
- Sydney, Australia (10th)
- Wellington, New Zealand (12th)
- Melbourne, Australia (18th)
- Perth, Australia (21st)

Top 5 cities - Europe
- Vienna, Austria ( 1st)
- Zurich, Switzerland (2nd)
- Geneva, Switzerland (3rd)
- Dusseldorf, Germany (6th)
- Munich, Germany (7th)

Top 5 cities - Middle East & Africa
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates (77th)
- Port Louis, Mauritius (82nd)
- Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (84th)
- Cape Town, South Africa (87th)
- Port Elizabeth, South Africa (93rd)

While this is index does not have direct relationship with real estate price, it is good data to know. This index also indicate that, if you want to balance work and life, it is your best bet to get out of mega cities like New York, Tokyo or London and settle at mid-size cities.

Happy Investing!!!!

US Metros with High Crime Rate.

Ranking from Forbes.com about Top 15 US MSA (Metropolitan Statical Area) with high violent crime rate. This is based on 2008 FBI crime data and Forbes has sorted data by MSA by combining data of cities in each MSA.

Rank Metropolitan Area Violent Crimes per 100,000
1 Detroit, Mich. 1,220
2 Memphis, Tenn. 1,218
3 Miami, Fla. 988
4 Las Vegas, Nev. 887
5 Stockton, Calif. 885
6 Orlando, Fla. 845
7 Little Rock, Ark. 831
8 Charleston, S.C. 824
9 Nashville, Tenn. 817
10 Baltimore, Md. 791
11 New Orleans, La. 773
12 Baton Rouge, La. 728
13 West Palm Beach, Fla. 726
14 Charlotte, N.C. 721
15 Philadelphia, Pa. 709

Again, Detroit got the honor of the most crime ridden MSA. Other than that, many of crime ridden MSA are those cities hit hard by real estate market decline and subsequent economic slow down as financial difficulty tend to cause crimes. Other notable thing is about high rank of traditionally poor southern cities such as Memphis、Charleston、 Nashville、New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

For the comparison, below is the list of cities (not MSA) with 300,000+ population on violent crimes per 100,000 residents.

City Violent Crime per 100000
DETROIT 1,092
ST. LOUIS 1,086
OAKLAND 965
MEMPHIS 958
KANSAS CITY 889
BALTIMORE 780
ATLANTA 767
NASHVILLE 747
PHILADELPHIA 722
MINNEAPOLIS 715
STOCKTON 702
MIAMI 700
MILWAUKEE 699
CLEVELAND 697
BOSTON 576
TULSA 564
SACRAMENTO 560
PITTSBURGH 556
TAMPA 546
HOUSTON 535
DALLAS 526
CINCINNATI 505
"LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN
POLICE DEPARTMENT " 502
JACKSONVILLE 495
CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG 445
COLUMBUS 422
SAN FRANCISCO 404
OKLAHOMA CITY 389
TUCSON4 382
PHOENIX 368
LOS ANGELES 356
LONG BEACH 350
ARLINGTON 350
PORTLAND 329
RIVERSIDE 327
LOUISVILLE METRO 326
FORT WORTH 325
FRESNO 324
DENVER 315
SANTA ANA 306
BAKERSFIELD 297
NEW YORK 291
OMAHA 289
AURORA 278
SAN ANTONIO 276
RALEIGH 274
COLORADO SPRINGS 262
SAN DIEGO 243
MESA 240
ANAHEIM 216
SAN JOSE 207
EL PASO 199
HONOLULU 148
VIRGINIA BEACH 115
CHICAGO #VALUE!

Lastly, below is 2007 Top 25 "safe" cities (mostly over 100K population). Those are very recognized middle class neighborhood.

City Violent Crime per 100000
IRVINE 35
BELLEVUE 55
THOUSAND OAKS 56
CARY 58
AMHERST TOWN 58
PROVO 60
GILBERT 61
SUNNYVALE 63
SIMI VALLEY 69
NORMAN 81
CENTENNIAL 84
GLENDALE 86
SCOTTSDALE 86
CARROLLTON 88
HUNTINGTON BEACH 92
OVERLAND PARK 94
EDISON TOWNSHIP 98
SANTA CLARA 100
ORANGE 102
RANCHO CUCAMONGA 102
ARVADA 105
MCKINNEY 106
SANTA CLARITA 106
CORAL SPRINGS 107
STERLING HEIGHTS 108

In US, you have to pay for the safety. During recession, real estate decline in dangerous areas tend to accelarate. In my experience, unless you are professional slumlord, I would not recommend the properties in bad neghborhood. Good tenants do not live in crime ridden areas --- you will be stuck with low quality tenants who tend to trash the properties and come up with ridiculous excuse not pay rent on time.

Happy Investing!!!!

10 Winners in the Recession - USnews.com

Very interesting article about "10 Winners in the Recession" by US News & World Report.

Here is top 10:

1. Home Gardening

2. Hollywood

3. Bodice Rippers

4. Condom Makers

5. Résumé Editing

6. Public Universities

7. Chocolate

8. McDonald's

9. Career Development Websites

10. At-Home Coffee Brews

Whenever there is change, there always are winners who can seize the opportunities!

Happy Investing!!!

Top 250 US Wealth Centers

This ranking is from Business Journal about wealthy town in USA. This ranking exclude wealthy neighborhoods in large cities (such Beverly Hills) so I think it is incomplete. But it is good data to know.

Here is Top 10 towns!

1. McLean, Va.
No U.S. city enjoys a wider range of affluence. Typical household income is $156,292. Typical home is worth $863,700.

2. Lake Forest, Ill.
Five percent of households in this Chicago suburb have annual incomes in excess of $1.15 million. Median is $150,670.

3. Saratoga, Calif.
Residents of this San Jose suburb love to drive. One-seventh of all households have four or more vehicles, leading the top 10.

4. Potomac, Md.
Sits across Potomac River from top-rated McLean. Has top 10’s biggest share of large homes: 55 percent have nine-plus rooms.

5. Darien, Conn.
Leads the nation in per capita income at $97,047, which is nearly four times the national average of $26,178.

6. Westport, Conn.
Unsurprisingly similar to Darien, eight miles away. Per capita income is a shade lower (though still very high) at $90,034.

7. Garden City, N.Y.
One of only nine U.S. communities where more than 35 percent of all households have annual incomes above $200,000.

8. Mountain Brook, Ala.
Education levels are higher here than anywhere else in the top 10. Eighty-one percent of adults hold college degrees.

9. Los Altos, Calif.
Located 12 miles northwest of No. 3 Saratoga. Median household income of $158,745 is third-highest in all of America.

10. La Canada Flintridge, Calif.
Million-dollar homes are common in the Los Angeles area’s top entry. Twelve percent of households have at least four vehicles.

These are towns with HNWI (high net worth individual) thus real estate seems to hold fairly steady in these towns. If you have $1 million in downpayment, it maybe very secure investment.

Happy Investing!!!

UT Austin is Ranked No. 2 Party School!

Let's invest in College Town!

I guess Any publicity is good publicity. University of Texas at Austin is located in the center of Austin Tx and is playing key role making Austin one of the best place for job growth and business. I believe UT is also characterized by Austin's exciting night life and bikini-wearing weather.

Playboy has introduced Top 10 Party School 2009, ranking UT Austin No.2 among all US colleges.

Here is the list of Top 10 Party Schools:

#1 UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
#2 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
#3 SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
#4 UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
#5 UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
#6 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN–MADISON
#7 UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
#8 LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
#9 UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
#10 WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY

Investing in college town is always good real estate investment strategy. But it offers additional benefit ----- enjoying party during business trip!

Happy Investing!!!

Existing Home Sales Data Mar 2009 - What does it means?

I have posted Real Estate related data and its relationship with Economy a few days ago.

NAR (National Association of Realtor) has announced March 2009 existing home sales, One of the key real estate related data as follows:

- Compared to March 2008, sales price has gone down by 12%. Compared to previous month, mediam price has increased to $175,200 from $168,200.

- Number of transactions have declined by -12% (seasonally adjusted) and -7.1% compared to Feb 2009 and Mar 2008 respectively.

- Pushed by $8000 tax credit and low interest rate, first time home buyer represents 53% of total transaction (it is usually at around 20% in regular market).

- As for the inventory, it has increased to 9.8 month, compared to 9.7 month in Feb 2009.

From this data, it is hard to conclude that real estate market hit the bottom while seasonally-adjusted transaction has increased to 4,570,000 from all-time-low 4,490,000 in January 2009.

One critical issue that characterize today's market is 53% of transactions is from first time home buyers. This shows how tax credit and low-down FHA loan is boosting demand among first time home buyers who were priced out during housing bubble.

Problem is, since first time home buyers, in average, put at or less than 5% down payment, in case of job loss or continued real estate decline, its mortgage's default rate is very high. In fact, it is said that default rate on FHA loan among first 3 years is about 20% range.

In regular market, move-up buyers represent 50%+ of total transactions. But many existing home owners can not sell the property due to negative equity situation. This contributes to dangerously high first time home owner oriented market. In fact, US Census just report that More in U.S. Are Staying Put.

I am not sure how long first time home buyers can drive residential real estate market as Tax Credit will expire on November 31st 2009. Unless existing home owners are back in market, real estate transaction may begin to slow down.

The other issue is inventory of properties. For last 5-6 month, lenders were encouraged by government to stop foreclosures, until Obama's housing affordability program is in place. Now that plan is announced, lenders accelerated foreclosure process. In addition, experts forecast that there are 600,000 - 1,500,000 shadow inventory of foreclosed properties. This pretty much guarantees that glut of foreclosure properties will continuously hit the markets at discounted price. While it depends on markets, you still have time to evaluate entry timing!

Happy Investing!!!!!