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84 risks of hurricanes and flooding, Los Angeles was found to be most at risk from earth- quakes and wildfires. ese are also the most expensive cities on the list to buy a home with median sale prices of $380,000 and $600,000, respectively. OHIO The Home Price Advantage Cleveland is the only city where the average price of a single-family home is lower today than in 1999, according to a study by Proper- tyClub. e average home price in this city in 1999 was $63,600, compared with $54,900 today, a decline of 14%. e study, which analyzed real estate prices in the 50 largest cities across the country over the past 20 years, as well as the income required to purchase a home in each city, indicated that cities on the West Coast had become more expensive than ever. In 1999, earning $76,414 per year was enough to afford a home in San Francisco. Today, a household must earn at least $308,763 to buy a home. e study indicated that home prices in the Golden Gate City had risen 304% over the past two decades. However, the nation's capital, Washing- ton, D.C., has seen the highest jump in home prices at 412% during this time. New York City, on the other hand, saw a 225% increase. e rising number of government jobs would continue to push the prices in Washington, D.C., the study indicated. Apart from Cleveland, the study indicated that homebuyers could also look at living in Memphis, Albuquerque, Wichita, and Columbus, all of which have seen only modest home price gains over the past 20 years. In all these cities, the average American household could afford to buy a home in just three years if they saved 30% of their income. On the other hand, it would take the average household almost 81 years to be able to afford a home in San Francisco if they saved 30% of their annual income. Similarly, it would take 62 years to save enough to buy a home in San Jose, and 43 years in Los Angeles. WISCONSIN Foreclosures and Voting Patterns Following the Recession, many foreclosure-affected homeowners may have not been able to participate in the 2012 election, according to a study conducted by researchers at UW-Milwaukee and Marquette University. e study found that homeowners who lost their home following the Great Recession or homeowners facing crisis- related foreclosure were less likely to head to the polls. According to the study, voting not only declined by individual homeowners, but entire neighborhoods hit by foreclosure may be affected. "is means that elected officials were not hearing from constituents most directly affected by the foreclosure crisis, effectively quashing a very real issue for most voters," said Paru Shah, UWM Associate Professor of Political Science. "Rather than being a mobilizing force, the study's results pointed to this idea that people facing insecurities didn't have the efficacy to go to the polls," said Amber Wichowsky, an Associate Professor at Marquette. Additionally, the study found that foreclosures impacted political turnout regardless of race or income level, and was unrelated to affected homeowners' likelihood of voting in previous elections. A similar study from the University of California Riverside's Vanesa Estrada- Correa and Martin Johnson revealed a similar result for the 2008 presidential election: foreclosure rates and foreclosure crisis are associated with reduced political involvement. "ere's been a lot of research on the positive side of the relationship, but not a lot of research on the negative side, on what happens when people are dislocated," Johnson said. According to the study, neighborhoods with very low foreclosure rates saw about a 0.2% drop in turnout below what was expected, and those with high foreclosure rates saw a decrease of around 1%. e study also found that homeowners are not just individually affected: communities with high rates of foreclosure saw overall drops in voter turnout in 2008. "Given the relationship between the foreclosure crisis and political participation, this research suggests the need for further investigation," the study says. "We are especially interested in the potential that housing foreclosure further exacerbates ethnic and economic inequality due to the preponderance of subprime loans, distressed mortgages, and foreclosures in communities of color and lower socioeconomic status." MICHIGAN Safer Cities, More Affordable Cities Detroit, Indianapolis, and Buffalo are among the least disaster-prone cities to live in. What's more, these are also among the most affordable for housing, according to an analysis by Redfin. For this study, Redfin analyzed the fre- quency of five major types of natural disas- ters—earthquakes, fires, floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes—in the 50 most populous U.S. metro areas. ese areas were then ranked ac- cording to a metric called the Natural Disaster Hazard Score. Each of the five components was measured on a scale of one to 100, with 100 being the most hazardous metro area for the category. e average of the five components' frequen- cies was then taken to get the overall Natural Disaster Hazard Score. "When you buy a home, you are paying for more than just the house," said Daryl Fair- weather, Chief Economist at Redfin. "ere could be hidden costs associated with natural disasters. If a natural disaster strikes, you may have to pay for damage to your home or for the cost of evacuating your family. And even dur- ing times of calm, you may still need to pay for insurance against floods, fire, or earthquakes. Some homes in more hazardous areas might seem more affordable if you are just looking at the sticker price, but they may end up costing more when risks related to natural disasters are factored in." While Providence, Rhode Island, topped this list with a Natural Disaster Hazard Score of 9, it was Detroit, placed second with a score of 10, that topped the list in terms of home affordability. Median home sale prices in the Motor City averaged $125,000. Hartford, Connecticut, Las Vegas, and Milwaukee rounded off the top five on this list with Natural Disaster Hazard Scores of 11, 12, and 14, respectively. Indianapolis and Buffalo, which ranked sixth and seventh for their over- all natural disaster scores, were also among the most affordable for housing with median home sale prices at $170,000 and $145,000, respectively. Salt Lake City; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Nashville, Tennessee, were also among the 10 least risky cities for natural disasters. With scores of 52 each, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles were the most at-risk cities for natural disasters according to the study. While residents in the country's capitals faced

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