Socal Multiunit Real Estate

SOCAL MULTIUNIT REAL ESTATE SNAPSHOT – SEPTEMBER 2010

By Jodi Summers

This month, we’ll look at the big picture for multiunit properties – SMILE *< : ) - it’s all good. Apartment properties should continue to be a bright spot in your real estate investment portfolio for years to come. President George Bush’s tax cuts are set to expire on December 31, 2010. New Year’s Day, capital gains taxes will revert to 20% from their 70-year low of 15%. (To add insult to injury, the tax rate on dividends for top earners will jump from 15.0% to 39.6%, barring a slight of pen from Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner.) If history repeats itself, and a déjà vu of 1986 - when significant tax code revisions took effect and the capital gains rate increased from 20% to 28% - investor liquidations are likely to double the total realized capital gains from the previous year.

The current state of the apartment market offers more good news. Demand for apartments has moved well beyond employment gains with the absorption of nearly 46,000 units nationally during the second quarter -> the strongest gain since 4Q 2000. This aggressive lease-up of apartments resulted in a vacancy drop to 7.8%, a trend that should continue through year-end. Unless there is “a systemic shock that halts job creation,” the California Employment Development Department predicts that an additional 65,000 units will be absorbed through the second half of the year, dropping vacancies to 7.4% nationwide by year-end.

Multiunit investments are going to start looking really good. Since 2002 - the year before the capital gains tax rate was reduced to a 70-plus-year low - the number of 1031 exchanges has fallen by nearly half. As capital gains taxes rise, the volume of 1031 exchanges is expected to increase substantially, as sellers will be note be motivated to take profits from the investment real estate sector.

The future is bright. Expect the multiunit market to heat up. Regardless of the decline in investment values, many investors will adopt a liquidation strategy, locking in their profits rather than waiting for investments to appreciate sufficiently to offset the 5% tax hike.

Experts say perceived tax-related risks may encourage them to continue selling assets in 2011.

We’re here to help you with industrial properties. Please contact Jodi Summers - jodi@jodisummers.com or 310.392.1211, and let us move forward together.

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http://www.edd.ca.gov/About_EDD/pdf/urate201010.pdf

http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/?pageid=1003

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/solar-multiunits.jpg

http://www.mredllc.com/photos/property/424/07588424.jpg

http://blog.marcusmillichap.com/

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http://cdn.dornob.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/huge-multi-unit-condo-exterior.jpg

SOCAL MULTIUNIT REAL ESTATE SNAPSHOT – AUGUST 2010

By Jodi Summers

It seems the Los Angeles multiunit market has turned the corner. No longer are owners and developers sitting idly by waiting for the loan market to change. A velocity study comparing three years of first quarter multifamily transactions in Los Angeles County, shows that sales velocity declined 10.6% in 2008 from 2007; then 18.8% in 2009 from 2008; but increased 19.2% for the first quarter this year over 2009.

Statistics by Clarus Market Metrics confirm this study. Comparing July 08 vs. July 10 the number of multiunit properties in Los Angeles County sold by month is up 32%

And! The number of under contract properties by month is up 92% for the same period.

“It is clear that investors are back in the market,” observes Robert Leveen, a senior vice president of Lee & Associates investment services group. “There will always be a desire to acquire quality assets. They are buying it today at a discount from where it last traded…”

“Most buyers want the best deal they can get,” Leveen notes. “However, there are some that are more realistic and underwrite accordingly.”

Statistics confirm deals are to be had. Comparing July 08 vs. July 10, the median price of for sale properties is down 15% while the median price of sold properties is down 33%.

GlobeSt.com notes that L.A. developers have new 900 multifamily units in the works. Projects range from a 151-unit conversion of a hotel to brand-new luxury apartments and eight affordable housing complexes.

“There is sufficient demand in the marketplace and although there are discounts, certain product will trade with multiple offers, and the discount is not as steep as many buyers would want,” Leveen concludes.

Indeed so, contrasting July 08 vs. July 10: The number of for sale properties is down 40% and the number of sold properties is up 32%.

We’re here to help you with investment properties. Please contact Jodi Summers -jodi@jodisummers.com or 310.392.1211 and let us move forward together.

**

http://www.globest.com/news/1704_1704/losangeles/300864-1.html?ET=globest:e22790:277110a:&st=email

http://www.globest.com/news/1702_1702/losangeles/300812-1.html?ET=globest:e22715:277110a:&st=email

https://www.terradatum.com/

SEE…DOE…HUD…DOT…EPA…NGA… IS BIG BROTHER WATCHING? SOCIALIZING URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN THE UNITED STATES

By Jodi Summers

Loyal readers of this blog are well aware that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) are working together in hopes of helping American families gain better access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs by creating affordable, sustainable communities.

Taking further steps in that direction, more government agencies are getting involved to attempt to make our new millennium existence easier all around. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have formed the State Energy Efficiency (SEE) Action Network to help states achieve the maximum cost-effective energy efficiency improvements possible in offices, buildings, industries and homes by 2020.

SEE…DOE…HUD…DOT…EPA…that’s a lot of government agencies making sure cities develop in the “proper” manner…socialized urban growth.

But, oops we wander, back to SEE…under the oversight of the EPA and the DOE, SEE will work with representatives from state and municipal governments, business leaders, public utility commissioners and others to make life in this country of energy efficiency for all.

The group plans to work from the framework set by the National Action Plan for Energy

Efficiency Vision for 2025, which was laid out in 2006…only the new goal is to make it a 2020 initiative…following the model set forth by California. You know AB 32 - California’s landmark 2006 global warming initiative.

(Not only has AB 32 been adopted by the Obama Administration, the International Code Council announced the state’s newly adopted Green Building Standards Code will serve as a foundation for commercial buildings worldwide AND California participated in the launch of China’s first GHG emissions registry. When his term comes to an end in November, Arnold Schwarzenegger should follow in the steps of former Vice President Al Gore in becoming a champion for energy programs that influence national and international policies…perhaps even work warmly with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Los Angeles’ 30/10 initiative…ah but we dream….)

SEE will offer technical assistance, and help with specific policy and program issues to advance energy efficiency efforts. Efforts may include financing solutions, residential efficiency programs and improving availability of energy usage information, etc…

Already the DOE and EPA have a request list that includes 32 state public utility commissions wanting assistance with energy efficiency programs.

SEE…DOE…HUD…DOT…EPA…and don’t forget the NGA…the National Governors Association is another national agency championing states with energy efficiency efforts.

Earlier this year, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices selected six states - Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin - to participate in the organization’s Policy Academy on State Building Efficiency Retrofit Programs.

The academy, funded by the DOE (you remember them, working with DOT among other liaisons…), is designed to help states develop strategies and action plans to improve the energy efficiency of existing building and reduce costs and emissions.

SEE…DOE…HUD…DOT…EPA…NGA… is Big Brother is watching?

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http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2257243/agencies-action-buildings

http://www.socalgreenrealestateblog.com/?p=691

http://www.socalindustrialrealestateblog.com/?p=434

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/department-of-transportation.jpg

http://www.socalgreenrealestateblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/hud-300×300.gif

http://watersecretsblog.com/archives/epa_seal.gif

http://management.energy.gov/images/New_DOE_Seal_Color_042808.png

SAM ZELL’S INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

SAM ZELL’S INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

By Jodi Summers

Expectations of a crash in commercial real estate market are “greatly exaggerated,” noted media and real estate magnet Sam Zell recently in Chicago. “Everyone is waiting for the grave dancer to come and exercise his magic potion, but you need two to tango.”

Speaking at the at the first “Invest for Kids” conference in downtown Chicago, Zell noted that owners of office and apartment buildings today have no incentive to sell. By 2011 or 2012 they will likely be able to fill their vacancies, albeit at rates 30% below their peaks, because demand will catch up to supply, he observed.

Optimistically he shared the fact that the U.S. population is growing and with fewer building starts in the past decade, demand for housing will rise.

Then again, Mr. Zell has made some interesting predictions. Financial mogul Sam Zell, owner of the Tribune Co., recently told an Israeli business conference that the U.S. real estate market will be in recovery by spring 2009.

Chicagoan Sam Zell is best known for owning and defaulting such famous media properties as the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and New York’s Newsday. Media aside, Zell’s fame and $6 billion net worth originate from his mastery of real estate investing principles. This mastery, demonstrated repeatedly over a 40-year career, results from Zell’s acute understanding of real estate market mega-trends and his dedication to turning around troubled properties.

Zell got into real estate investing in the 1960s, during the time he received his bachelor’s (1963) and law degrees (1966) from the University of Michigan. It started when he finagled his way into a property management role with a local landlord. Next, Zell began buying distressed properties, fixing them up and rent them to students. Zell was a hands-on landlord who put a lot of energy into scouting and fixing up locations.

According to About.com, “In 1969, Zell and his partner Robert Lurie formed Equity Properties Management Corp. to centralize Zell’s rapidly diversifying investments in real estate. In the 1970s, Zell expanded beyond his initial interest in residential real estate and began to acquire office space under the aegis of Equity Office Properties Trust, or EOP. Zell structured his business as a series of real estate investment trusts, or REITs, under the Equity umbrella. EOP was one REIT; Equity Residential Properties Trust was another. The REIT structure allowed Zell to radically reduce his corporate income taxes. In addition to exploiting the REIT tax structure, Zell polished his skills as a salesman and convinced an increasing number of investors to entrust their money to him.”

Zell, with Robert H. Lurie went on to found the Equity Group Investments, LLC, which spawned three real estate public companies, including: Equity Residential, the largest apartment owner in the United States; Equity Office Properties, the largest office owner in the country; and Manufactured Home Communities, a mobile home company. In addition, Zell has created a number of public and private companies.

He proceeded to grow his office properties - Equity Properties Management REITs into strong national brand names. This project met with marginal success, as enterprises tended to buy office space based on local differentiators such as price and management, not on national differentiators such as brand name. Zell had to sell some office space for less than what he paid for it, but this did not cost him his whole empire, and he sold this part of his portfolio to Blackstone for $36 billion in 2006, and in 2007, Zell acquired a portfolio of newspapers owned by the Tribune Co., including the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Newsday and Baltimore Sun. …an odd time to buy newspaper franchises.

Currently, Zell recently raised $625 million to invest in “credit opportunities.”

“In every market and in every situation there is opportunity,” Zell concluded.

“In my 40 years in real estate, I’ve found there is only one metric that matters — replacement cost.” He noted that the spread between a building’s replacement cost and its economic value is as wide today as it was in 1993 — mainly because the cost of construction has increased.

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http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/hotproperty/archives/2005/11/zells_favorite.html

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=36105&print=1

http://www.socalmultiunitrealestateblog.com/?p=201

http://homebuying.about.com/lw/Business-Finance/Real-estate/Sam-Zell-Real-Estate-Magician.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Zell

http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/hotproperty/zell2.jpg

http://reason.com/assets/mc/mwelch/2009_10/SamZell.jpg

http://www.richsamuels.com/nbcmm/zell/images/zellhs.jpg

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/07/0731_zell/image/zell.jpg

LOS ANGELES WINS THE ENERGY STAR GRAND PRIZE…AGAIN

By Jodi Summers

Bravo to all of you greening your properties. According to our friends at the environmental protection agency, approximately 3,900 commercial buildings earned the Energy Star rating in 2009, representing annual savings of more than $900 million in utility bills and more than 4.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Impressively, nearly 9,000 buildings across the nation have earned the Energy Star for superior energy efficiency during the past 11 years.

A standing ovation for our beloved Los Angeles. The EPA ranked us as first on its annual list of metro areas with the most energy-efficient buildings. We led the field with 293 buildings labeled Energy Star in 2009, up from the 262 that qualified the city as No. 1 in 2008.

Kudos also go to our nation’s capitol. Washington, DC, ranked fourth place in 2008, is now in second, with 204 Energy Star buildings, up from 136 the previous year.

Energy Star is a voluntary labeling program run by the EPA and U.S. Department of Energy. In order to qualify, a building or manufacturing plant must score in the top 25 percent based , on the agency’s National Energy Performance Rating System and use less energy, reduce operating expenses and cause fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Roll the credits - the top 25 cities with the most energy star labeled buildings in 2009 are:

1. Los Angeles, CA

2. Washington, DC

3. San Francisco, CA

4. Denver, CO

5. Chicago, IL

6. Houston, TX

7. Lakeland, FL

8. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

9. Atlanta, GA

10. New York, NY

11. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

12. Portland, OR

13. Boston, MA

14. Seattle, WA

15. Detroit, MI

16. Sacramento, CA

17. San Diego, CA

18. Austin, TX

19. Miami, FL

20. Phoenix, AZ

21. Ogden, UT

22. Charlotte, NC

23. Indianapolis, IN

24. Des Moines, IA/Fort Collins, CO/Philadelphia, PA

25. Louisville, KY

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http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/03/23/la-takes-top-spot-epa-green-building-rankings

http://www.costar.com/News/Article.aspx?id=624F645516667EF93A09A56906607F8E&ref=100&iid=174&cid=383F14EEE265B182474DA2442BACBBBF

http://gateway.costar.com/imageviewer/GetImage.aspx?webimage=EPA+Energy+Star.JPG

http://lakelandflforeclosures.com/images/lakelandatnight.jpg

http://www.staronetickets.com/images/Seattle.jpg

http://away.com/images/outside/200808/ogden-ut.jpg

http://pics4.city-data.com/cpicc/cfiles28462.jpg

SOCAL MULTIUNIT REAL ESTATE SNAPSHOT – JULY 2010

by Jodi Summers

Apartment properties hover in that weird netherworld between residential and commercial properties. Oftentimes, the two markets are working in tandem, so it’s no big deal, but lately in Coastal Los Angeles, activity in the residential market has been on the rise while the commercial market continues to languish.

June statistics for the Los Angeles County multiunit market reflects that dichotomy. Comparing Jun-08 to Jun-10, you’ll notice that the median price of for sale properties is down 7% and the median price of sold properties is down 48% - reflecting the huge drop in the commercial property market.

But, like the residential market, multiunit activity is way up. Contrast Jun-08 vs. Jun-10 and you’ll note that the number of under contract properties is up 95%

The rise Los Angeles is seeing in apartment building sales is happening country-wide. Nationally, through the first six months of 2010, $11.6 billion in multifamily property

traded hands, up from $7.7 billion in the first half of last year, according to 2010 CoStar first-half sales statistics. CoStar expects the prorated dollar volume for multifamily properties for 2010 to exceed $23.3 billion - a 17% increase over 2009.

Which is why, in a year-over-year comparison the number of sold properties is up 21%.

We have started our rise out of the mire. The midyear UCLA Anderson Forecast notes that the Los Angeles regional economy will likely recover faster than the rest of the state, even though the economic recovery in California is going to climb slower than the rest of the country this year. Already we are seeing signs of slow decline… state unemployment dropped a shred from 12.5% in April to 12.4% in May.

The state “will grow slower than the US and a slow recovery in jobs will leave unemployment at 12.1% for the year,” notes UCLA Anderson senior economist Jerry Nickelsburg, in the midyear forecast. “The latter part of our forecast (through 2012) calls for health care, professional and business services, exports, construction and technology-related manufacturing sectors to generate a bit more robust growth in California.”

We are on the march. Let’s look forward. This year is better than last year, and next year will be better than this year.

We’re here to help you with investment properties. Please contact Jodi Summers –jodi@jodisummers.com or 310.392.1211 for details.

**

http://www.globest.com/news/1684_1684/losangeles/300380-1.html?ET=globest:e22415:277110a:&st=email

http://www.costar.com/News/Article.aspx?id=B4DDC752B7245C006B76C18CE64493DB&ref=100&iid=188&cid=383F14EEE265B182474DA2442BACBBBF

http://www.edd.ca.gov/About_EDD/pdf/urate201006.pdf

https://www.terradatum.com/agentmetricsonline/property_type_selection.td

THE GREENEST GOLF COURSE GETS AUDUBON CERTIFICATION

By Jodi Summers

Who has a great voice, umpteen million dollars, their own golf course and is socially conscious? Justin Timberlake, mega successful solo artist and all around good guy has opened up the nation’s first eco-friendly golf course in Memphis, Tennessee.

Originally called Woodstock Hills, the golf course is said to be the first place golf-enthusiast and former member of ‘NSYNC learned to hit a golf ball. He saved the golf course from becoming a multiunit development project.

“…Last year we found out they were going to auction it off and turn it into a development,” Justin revealed. “So we thought it was such a landmark for the community, we’d scoop it and save it. And we did. We were able to before it was auctioned off.”

A couple of decades and $16 million later, the newly renamed Mirimichi Golf Course is the “greenest” golfing destination in the U.S….

“I’m excited about every aspect of the course,” Justin confessed. “We basically created a whole new course. It’s a completely different track and doesn’t look anything like what it did. It’s exciting. There’s literally a creek around the whole course. We’ve dug 7 new lakes—the construction we’ve done lengthened the course by almost 1000 yards. We’ll have a great first tee program for kids and families. We’ll have a 9-hole executive course, but it’s really to use for the first tee program out there. We’ll have junior tournaments to get more young people into the game. I like the values the game teaches like honesty, patience, focus, and tenacity. Also, it’s close to my house. And my parents had their wedding reception there.”

The Mirimichi Golf Course is the first project in the U.S. to receive the Audubon International’s Classic Sanctuary certification.The course features irrigation systems that maximize the use of rainwater, native landscaping and solar-powered electric golf carts.

“I love my new course Mirimichi,” Justin confessed. “I love it for so many reasons. I feel like we did something great for the community. And we ended up doing something great for the world—a lot of people will pay attention to how eco-friendly this establishment is and I hope it will make some waves.”

When asked about who his idea golf foursome would be, Justin confided,” Bobby Jones because he never took a dollar for the game and always loved the purity of the game. Tiger Woods because he’s without a doubt the best golfer of all time. And has taken every dollar for the game! And my dad because he taught me how to play. He’s my favorite person to play golf with.”

http://www.justintimberlake.com/news/a_quick_9_with_jt_a_golf_qa

http://earth911.com/blog/2009/07/23/justin-timberlake-opens-first-eco-friendly-golf-course/

http://allfunmusik.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/justin_timberlake_01.jpg

http://www.wreg.com/media/photo/2009-07/48038279.jpg

http://ontheredcarpet.typepad.com/.a/6a010536c12963970b0115723cb64c970b-pi

http://media.commercialappeal.com/mca/content/img/photos/2009/07/25/22mirimichi1.jpeg

4 GREEN BUILDING TRENDS 4U

4 GREEN BUILDING TRENDS 4U

By Jodi Summers

Green building concepts are being embraced with as much wild abandon as kids grasping for the coolest new video game. It started pretty basic – green construction, then evolved into green renovation, and now it’s branching out in all directions. Here are 4 green building trends to watch and invest….

1 - Modular Green Homes – One of the most successful investors in history, Warren Buffett, recently expanded one of his business subsidiaries, Clayton Homes, to produces a line of green modular homes. These 750-square-foot eco homes, dubbed “i-houses,” can be purchased online for less than $75,000. It’s a good bet that if Buffet is invested in it, the area will grow. Our hero is second richest man in the United States with a net worth of $40 billion.

The i-houses are constructed as modules in a factory and then assembled in the field. I-houses are marketed as “affordable luxury in a green, energy-efficient package.”

Beyond Buffett, there are others, such as Zeta Communities and Blu Homes in the green prefabricated market. Modular home construction will be a wise choice for builders going forward because it may allow developers reduce risk, allowing the development of large sites to take place as sales come in rather than building a planned community in larger phases before the units are sold out.

2 – Energy Retrofits – California state measure AB 1103, which requires the tracking of the energy use of all nonresidential buildings for disclosure to prospective buyers and tenants, is a fine example of how critical energy retrofits will be in the future. Much of the country’s real estate is old and wastes energy…eventually these properties will need to be upgraded or replaced. Not to mention, this is a cornerstone of President Obama’s post recession job creation movement.

Energy Star, the government, and local utilities have been offering rebates for property owners on measures like energy audits, insulation and duct sealing. SBI Energy predicts that the U.S. home energy retrofit market will grow about 15 percent per year to $35 billion by 2013, up from $20.7 billion in 2007.

David Leathers, senior vice president of energy services for mechanical contractor Limbach, confides that U.S. commercial building in the U.S. five years or older can likely benefit from a retrofit with payback for most measures taken in less than five years.

3 - Smart Building Materials - Energy-efficient building materials are the frame of green building. Serious Materials recently raised a $60 million third round of venture for the manufacture of energy-saving windows and environmentally friendly substitutes for sheetrock. More good investments - high-efficiency insulation system companies, such as walls with micro-encapsulated phase change materials to stabilize the indoor temperatures in buildings. More…Electrochromic technologies can darken or lighten the tint of a window when in contact with an electrical current, thus managing the amount of sunlight that passes through…Ventilated double-skin facades (already being used in Europe), use inner and outer glass walls with a thin cavity to provide insulation in between for the exterior shell of a building.

4 - More Energy Efficient Energy Codes - The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE ) and the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) are both developing the latest round of “model codes”— ASHRAE 90.1 and IECC — will likely require a 30 percent increase in energy efficiency.

Congress may soon mandate that all states raise their standards to the newest codes. The American Clean Energy and Security Act passed by the House this year includes a provision that would effectively create a baseline national building energy code by mandating the adoption of a standard set by the Department of Energy, who may very well call on the standards set forth by ASHRAE or IECC.

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http://earth2tech.com/2009/12/23/4-green-building-trends-to-watch-in-2010/

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Homes/Green-Modular-Homes.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Buffet

http://www.socalgreenrealestateblog.com/?p=841

http://www.ashrae.org/

http://www.icis.com/blogs/green-chemicals/2009/01/green-building-is-still-recess.html

http://www.newenglandmetalroof.com/construction_directory/green-building.gif

http://www.charlesandhudson.com/archives/eco-friendly-building-materials.jpg

U.S. RESIDENTS STILL BELIEVE IN THE AMERICAN DREAM

U.S. RESIDENTS STILL BELIEVE IN THE AMERICAN DREAM

by Jodi Summers

Once upon a time, when the world was not a global village, foreigners believed that America was the land of opportunity, with street paved in gold. A recent poll by the Pew Charitable Trusts has concluded that nearly 80% of Americans believe it is still possible to improve their economic standing and remain optimistic that their family’s economic circumstances will improve within their lifetime and across generations.

“If you can’t do it here, where else can you do it?” asks Reda, who emigrated to the U.S. from the former Soviet Union.

The beautiful part of the finding, is that all people living here believe life can be better here. The conclusions hold true across racial lines and even among lower-income, less-educated and unemployed people, according to the national public opinion poll conducted for Pew’s Economic Mobility Project by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies.

“Although the current economic crisis seems to be deepening each day and many families are feeling the pinch – either through company layoffs, decreasing home values or loss of retirement savings – Americans are taking a longer-term view,” said John E. Morton, managing director of Economic Policy at The Pew Charitable Trusts. “We may be struggling in our daily lives, but Americans are confident in themselves and their ability to get ahead in the future.”

A majority of those polled support a wide range of policies the government could adopt to encourage upward economic mobility, such as making college more affordable, investing in early childhood education, making retirement savings easier or providing job training and financial education. In addition, a majority (71 percent) think it is more important for the country to provide people a fair chance of improving their economic standing than it is to reduce inequality in the United States.

“This poll confirms the long-held American belief that hard work and talent brings a just reward, and our society should aim to provide equality of opportunity, not guarantee equality of outcomes,” noted Morton. “These results convey a clear message to policy makers – the solutions to the economic challenges facing American families should focus on promoting opportunity and upward mobility.”

OUR PRIOERTIES

By a 71 to 21 percent margin, Americans said that personal attributes such as hard work and drive are more important to economic mobility than structural issues such as the state of the economy and one’s economic circumstances growing up. Similarly, respondents said personal attributes, including poor life choices, taking on too much debt and lack of education, are the factors that are most likely to contribute to someone falling down the income ladder.

Looking to the future, more than two-thirds of people (72 percent) believe that their personal economic circumstances will be better in the next ten years than they are today and most parents say their own children will have a higher standard of living than they had (62 percent). Notably, Americans largely define the American Dream as freedom to accomplish anything you want with hard work or having future generations be better off than their parents. “Becoming rich” was one of the lowest ranked definitions of the American Dream.

THE OBAMA FACTOR

African Americans are the most optimistic group about their and their children’s opportunities for economic mobility. Eighty-five percent believe their economic circumstances will be better in 10 years than they are now, compared to 71 percent of whites and 77 percent of Hispanics. When asked whether their children would have an easier or harder time moving up the income ladder, whites are the most pessimistic, with 54 percent saying it will be harder to move up the income ladder, compared to 34 percent of African Americans and 41 percent of Hispanics.

“This research shows that Americans throughout our diverse society have an abiding faith in their ability to get ahead,” said Ianna Kachoris, project manager of Pew’s Economic Mobility Project. “However, our economic analysis has previously reported there are considerable racial gaps in mobility, as well as significant immobility for many Americans at the bottom of the income ladder. People’s perception of their ability to get ahead may not necessarily coincide with reality, and special attention should be paid to improving mobility for all Americans.”

For all the information please go to:

http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=50022

http://geology.com/world/the-united-states-of-america-satellite-image.shtml

GLOBAL EDGE TOP 10 BUSINESS DESTINATIONS

GLOBAL EDGE TOP 10 BUSINESS DESTINATIONS

edited by Jodi Summers

Global Property Guide has put together a list of the most attractive

property investment destinations across the world. Their research team

has ranked 77 of the world’s largest cities according to the average

gross rental yields.

The top 10 destinations are dominated by Asian cities, with Jakarta,

Kuala Lumpur and Manila all making the list.

http://www.globaledge.co.uk/news/top-10-best-investment-destinations-35909