I'm a research geek. Every day here at MensHealth.com, at our 10 a.m. news meeting, we assess dozens of new studies from researchers from around the world. Then we publish the most surprising, practical, and empowering research—findings that can change your life today—in our daily news channel.

You probably run across some of these studies, too; the major ones get a lot of media attention. That's why I actually prefer sifting through smaller, more obscure periodicals, hunting for research no one else is reporting. For example, over the past week I've learned:

• You can lose weight by paying for groceries with cash; turns out, you're more likely to buy unhealthy foods if you pay with a credit card.
• Taking a vitamin D supplement fortifies your muscles, making them less prone to injury.
• Flirting at work is a hidden sign that your job isn't right for you.
• Google is making us forgetful, because we're less likely to try to remember information that we know is readily accessible.

Who knew, right? Here are nine more fascinating strange-but-true study findings we've run across over the past few years.

Live Longer by Changing Your Name
People with "positive" initials—ones that spell out things like J.O.Y. or W.O.W.—live nearly 4-1/2 years longer than people with neutral initials, according to a University of California, San Diego study. D.U.D.'s live nearly three years less. Other initials that may shorten life: I.L.L. and D.E.D.

Keep Your Mind Sharper by Being a Jerk
Research from the U.S. Administration on Aging suggests there's a marked difference between how younger and older people interpret misplacing their car keys. A young guy usually blames someone else. An old man typically blames himself. Never use your age as an excuse—you'll remain sharper longer. 

Break a High Fever With Your Armpits
Anything up to 102°F is mild and can be treated by drinking plenty of fluids. But to quickly bring down a reading above that, put an ice pack under your arm or near your groin. Icing either spot will cool your body's core. It's uncomfortable, but it works fast. Then see a doctor.

Prevent Claustrophobia by Smelling This Fruit
If you get nervous in small spaces such as subways, elevators, and that closet of an office they stuck you in, visit your local fruit stand. A sniff of green apple may help relieve claustrophobic sensations, says Dr. Alan Hirsch, M.D., director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation. Carry one with you. Also, if you're selling your house, placing a basket of fresh green apples on the table may make potential buyers perceive the house as larger.

7 WAYS TO BE A BETTER FATHER: Read one child's hilarious plea to the impatient father in Adam Mansbach's bestselling book, as told to the editors of Men's Health.

Disinfect a Wound with Honey
No Neosporin in the house? Dab the cut with honey before covering it with a bandage. Believe it or not, honey has powerful antibacterial properties. A study in the Archives of Surgery found that honey is capable of destroying almost all strains of the most common wound-infecting bacteria.

Stop Bleeding with This Spice
Next time you nick yourself in the kitchen, reach for the black pepper, says Roberta Lee, M.D., vice chair of the department of integrative medicine at the Beth Israel Medical Center. Run cold water over the wound to clean it, using soap if you were handling meat. Then sprinkle on the pepper and apply pressure. In no time, the bleeding will stop. Turns out, black pepper has analgesic, antibacterial, and antiseptic properties. And don't worry—it won't sting.

See Your Tailor to Cure Back Pain
If you have an aching back, it may be because one of your legs is shorter than the other, says Steven McCaw, Ph.D., a researcher at Illinois State University. Even a slight imbalance can cause the spine to curve to the short side when you walk or run. Eventually, the bend puts painful pressure on disks. Most people can’t tell if their legs are different lengths, but a tailor can. Ask one for a quick measurement. If he finds an imbalance, correct the problem with a therapeutic, Dr. Scholl-type insert or see a podiatrist for a custom-made orthotic.

Massage Away Nicotine Cravings
If you’re a smoker who’s trying to quit, try this simple trick the next time a craving hits: Rub the skin between your index fingers and thumbs and the center of your palms. A study in Preventive Medicine found that men using this technique smoked 25 percent fewer cigarettes in a month than 10 quitters who used traditional distraction methods such as chewing gum. The quick self-massage evidently calms you and keeps your hands busy.

Drink This to Lower Your Cholesterol 
The fiber supplement Metamucil can help lower elevated cholesterol levels. In one study, men who took one packet mixed in water before each meal for eight weeks experienced drops in LDL cholesterol averaging 7 percent. Metamucil also helps to lower blood pressure, blood sugar, and the risk of heart disease, according to the National Fiber Council.

THE HOTTEST CELEBRITY BODIES OF 2011: See who made this year's list!

THIS WEEK'S MEN'S HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS!
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Home prices in major U.S. cities have risen for the first time in eight months, boosted by an annual flurry of spring buyers.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price index reported Tuesday that prices rose in 13 of the 20 cities tracked. Washington, D.C., saw the biggest price increases, followed by San Francisco, Atlanta and Seattle.

Still, six metro areas are at their lowest levels in the nearly four years. Those markets are: Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami and Tampa.

Last month, home prices in big metro areas sunk to their lowest since 2002. Since the bubble burst in 2006, prices have fallen more than they did during the Great Depression.

The index, which covers metro areas that include about 50 percent of U.S. households, rose 0.7 percent, the first increase since July. The index measures sales of select homes in those cities compared with prices in January 2000 and provides a three-month average price. The April data is the latest available.

David M. Blitzer, chairman of Standard & Poor's index committee, cautioned that while the price index increase was a "welcome shift from recent months," much of the improvement was likely because of the beginning of the traditionally busy spring and summer home-buying seasons.

A delay in processing foreclosures is also a factor. Homes in foreclosure sell at a 20 percent discount on average, which can hurt prices in neighborhoods. But many foreclosures have been delayed while federal regulators, state attorneys general and banks review how those foreclosures were carried out over the past two years.

Even with the increase, housing remains the weakest part of the U.S. economy.

Sales of previously occupied homes sank in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million. That's far below the roughly 6 million sold in healthy housing markets. Since the housing boom went bust in 2006, sales have fallen in four of the past five years.

New-home sales haven't fared any better. They fell in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 319,000 — fewer than half the 700,000 that economists say must be sold to sustain a healthy housing market. Sales of new homes have fallen 18 percent in the two years since the recession ended. Last year was the worst for new-home sales on records dating back half a century.

Larger down payment requirements, tougher lending standards and high unemployment are preventing people from buying homes. Many people who can afford to buy are holding off, worried that prices have yet to bottom out.

The depressed housing market has weighed on the broader economy. Declining home prices have kept people from selling their houses and moving to find jobs in growing areas. They have also made people feel less wealthy. That has reduced consumer spending, which drives about 70 percent of economic activity.

BRIGHTON, Mich. — RelocateAmerica, a research directory of community profiles that issues an annual list of the top U.S. communities to relocate, has named Knoxville in its Top 100.

RelocateAmerica says its 14th annual ranking makes Knoxville eligible to be in its overall Top 10, which is determined through a nominating process where the public can vote for favorite destinations on RelocateAmerica’s website beginning today and continuing through July 31. The list will be released Aug. 2.

“We are looking for a strong show of support among local residents, community and business leaders as the Top 10 breakout category winners are now determined through a special nomination process,” said Steve Nickerson, president of RelocateAmerica. “Community pride is a good indicator of great leadership and a mark of a great place to live, work and play.”

Criteria for the list includes data on economies, employment, housing, education, industry, opportunity, environment and recreation as well as feedback from area leaders and residents.

Public voting for the Top 10 relocation destinations is new this year. This year, RelocateAmerica also plans to release lists from six other categories.

© 2011, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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If you're considering selling your home, there are a number of factors you should consider regarding the resale value of your property. Some of these issues may devalue your home or scare some potential buyers away entirely, even if your home is an otherwise outstanding property! Consider these eight factors when listing your home.

1. Location, Location, Location
Many real estate television shows repeat this phrase over and over. Buying a home in an area that provides residents with access to services and effective transportation is important - though many buyers don't wish to live too close to airports and busy roads for fear of noise.

Visual appeal is another concern. Cell phone towers and power lines can be seen as eyesores - or possibly even having potential health hazards. Local school closures can also deter potential buyers who have children or who are considering having children in the near future. Some buyers may be leery of purchasing homes that are on flood plains.

To ensure maximum resale potential, consider how many of these types of issues exist near the properties you're considering. Remember, though, there's no way of knowing exactly how a neighborhood will evolve over time.

2. Good Renovations Gone Bad
If your home looks like a DIY nightmare, this can definitely devalue your home. Though putting money into renovations generally increases the value of a home, poorly done renovations can have the opposite effect. If buyers feel that the renovations will have to be redone, there's a good chance they'll make a lower offer or keep looking for a move-in ready home.

3. Overly Creative Customization
That bright pink feature wall might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but the truth is that unusual paint choices - both inside and outside the home - can turn buyers off, even if your customization is the cutting edge trend in current home design magazines. Customizing spaces so that they may not be functional to future buyers, like turning the garage into a home gym or a granny apartment, might make some buyers reluctant to buy your property.

The same can be said for unique landscaping choices or renovations that are too high scale for the house. A professional chef's kitchen or marble bathrooms in a modest home suited to first-time buyers won't likely provide a good return on investment.

4. Unappealing Curb Appeal
The first thing potential buyers will see is the exterior of the property. If the house appears to be outdated or in poor repair on the outside, people will assume it is the same for the inside. Water features or swimming pools and overly landscaped green space may turn off some buyers since people tend to associate high maintenance yards with expensive upkeep and unnecessary headaches. Old fences and sheds can also devalue your home, especially if they look like they're in dire need of replacement. Keep the gardens weeded and the lawn mowed so that potential buyers can see how nice the property is, inside and out.

5. Pets Gone Wild
Many people won't mind buying a home that has had resident animals, but no one wants to live with constant reminders of former owners' pets. Damage to carpets, walls or a strong smell of animals will put off some buyers - especially those with allergies. Consider letting your pets live elsewhere while the property is for sale. Also, a good cleaning and repairing of any visible damage will help to mitigate the potential devaluation of your home associated with pet ownership. 

6. Not-So-Nice Neighborhood
A dodgy neighborhood with a high crime rate or homes on your block that look unkempt can scare potential buyers away. Even if your neighbors have unusual-colored homes or have made strange additions to their homes, this can be perceived by potential buyers as an eyesore.

7. Sinister Reputation
Well-known crimes, deaths or even urban legends associated with your house or neighborhood can decrease the value of a home immensely. Most people don't want to live in a home where they feel that something awful has happened, much less move in with your alleged resident ghost! Though these kinds of issues may be out of your control, they may certainly have an impact on the resale value of your home.

8. Frightful Foreclosures
Many buyers are leery of purchasing foreclosures that are being sold on an "as-is" basis. The fear is that the home could be a money pit or require a huge amount of repairs before being move-in ready. Some good homes may be available through foreclosures, but it's important to do your research, ask lots of questions and don't be afraid to bargain. It's also crucial that you get a home inspection so that you know exactly what you're getting into. There's a good chance that some work will be required when buying a foreclosure, but you may get great value for your money if you're willing to put in a little work.

The Bottom Line
Neighborhoods change over time, so there's no way to be totally sure when you buy a property how the area will look in the years to come. However, you should always make your best efforts to address any issues with your property that are within your control. Play up your home's strong points and get involved with your realtor to ensure that any special features of your home and neighborhood have been highlighted.

This article is part of a series related to being Financially Fit

The Secret City Festival, presented by the City of Oak Ridge, the Arts Council of Oak Ridge and the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau includes a wide variety of events and activities for the entire family.

The "original" festival concept began in 1982 as the Azalea Festival, a small one-day arts and crafts show featuring food and entertainment. The celebration grew and evolved over the years and "Mayfest" became its official title in 1990. Until 1992, most of the activity took place on the Civic Center Plaza and was known as the Plaza Party. When the Performing Arts Pavilion was completed, all the entertainment was moved out into the park and the weekend was renamed Party in the Park.

In 2003 "Mayfest" was changed to the "Secret City Festival" to showcase Oak Ridge's heritage. In 2004, in a continuing effort to improve the festival, the dates were changed in hopes of missing the unpredictable May weather.

The mission of the Secret City Festival is to become a premier event in East Tennessee while fostering pride and involvement in the Oak Ridge community by showcasing its diversity through cultural events and activities for people of all ages. The festival promotes the history of the city and unites its World War II heritage with the technological advancements that are ongoing within the City of Oak Ridge.

The theme for this festival is From the 40's to the Future.

We all remember our mothers digging through the Sunday edition of the newspaper, clipping and cataloging coupons for her next shopping trip. And we all know that we swore not to turn into our mothers.

But no-one wants to pay full price for things that we think we can get at a discount. With a seemingly limitless supply of digital coupons and deals now available on your mobile device, you don’t have to. We have assembled the very best list of coupon-related smartphone apps for the iPhone, Android phones and BlackBerries that will keep your phone in your hand, and your money in your pocket.

Tap into deals with the iPhone

Groupon (free) is designed not only to connect you with discount products and experiences, but also to share with friends and family. You can buy a deal yourself – like a $19 whitewater rafting trip – and then refer it to someone else, or you can buy it directly for someone else as a gift. When you refer an item to a friend, you can earn Groupon dollars, saving yourself even more money. And when you go to use your coupons, you don’t have to print anything off. Just carry your iPhone with you.

Similarly, the free LivingSocial app uses location-based software to create a list of discounts and deals in your area that are then emailed to you. But this app has an additional feature that is designed specifically to connect you with great – and discounted – vacations. For example, I came across a package for a two-night stay at a winery in Napa, breakfast included, for $300 bucks.

Coupon Sherpa (free) is the app to have for those who shop by habit. That’s because the app allows you to shop for coupons and discounts by store, and by product category. So if you are heading to Target anyway, open up the Coupon Sherpa and see if any of your favorite items are on sale. It is always fun to save money, even if it’s only $5 off some kitty litter.

The free MobiQpons app is lighter on the exotic vacations, and heavier on deals for the local drugstore. It is probably best used when you are heading out for some local errands and need an oil change – $5 off at Jiffy Lube – or an ice cream - $3 off any cake at Baskin Robbins. Deals can also be searched for by store and by category, and there is something for everyone. One additional cool feature is a savings tab: it tallies up exactly how many coupon dollars you have logged.

Checking multiple coupon apps for the best deals can get a little time consuming. For those who are eager to get straight to the point, there are a couple of handy discount aggregators. The Daily Shopper app (free) allows you to construct a list of stores that you want to see coupons from. If, for example, you get all of your children’s toys from WalMart, you can sign up for notifications from that store alone. Similarly, the free iDealyzer Pro app pulls deals and coupons from discount sites such as Woot! and Groupon so you can review them all in one spot.

Discount offerings on Android

Most popular apps on the iPhone are also available on the several dozen of smartphones and tablets powered by Google’s Android mobile operating software. Accordingly, Groupon and LivingSocial can also be downloaded for free onto Android devices.

Android owners who want to brag about daily deal apps not available on the iPhone can show off Dealleak - The Daily Deal Portal. This free application aggregates the best offerings from several daily deal providers and compiles them onto one app. Dealleak lets you filter results by either new or close-to-expiring deals. It also has a great tool to let you search for deals within your proximity.

More information about these and other useful (and free!) coupon apps for Android can be found here.

Best of BlackBerry

While there are a lot of great things about BlackBerry smartphones and tablets, having a variety of useful coupon recommendations is not one of them. BlackBerry’s App World store has a small fraction of the number of apps available from the iTunes App Store and Android Market.

Still, there is an official Groupon app for BlackBerry to go along with three additional Groupon clients that help users find deals and in one case literally map out where deals are offered across the globe. As the unofficial Groupon apps can be hit and miss, it pays (and saves) to stick with the real McCoy.

If you’re willing to spend a buck (or 99 cents) to save a few dollars, wootSnoop for BlackBerry is also a compelling option.

RISMEDIA, May 13, 2011—(MCT)—Q: You recently wrote about reglazing instead of replacing ceramic tile. My oak kitchen cabinets are about 23 years old and are structurally sound, but are outdated and showing wear. I am wondering if the idea of reglazing rather than replacing might apply to cabinets, too. I would also add new doors and handles.

A: I’d first go to a couple of showrooms for ideas to spruce up the cabinets or even, perhaps, look at replacements. I realize that times are tough, but sometimes you have to let go.

If you are shopping, look for ads from outlets that offer deals or closeouts on cabinets. People I’ve talked to have found bargains on brand-name cabinets at half their retail price.

Builders may have stocked cabinets for houses they haven’t been able to build and might be willing to sell you some at a discount to get the expense off their books.

Are the boxes and frames in good shape? New doors and hardware may be all you really need. Look at refacing by a professional.

Refacing uses veneer to cover the exposed faces of frames, and new plywood or door panels to cover end panels. New doors, drawer fronts, and moldings are added, as well as new hardware.

The cost of refacing tends to be all over the map, depending on the job, although some consumers have been complaining lately that refacing can cost as much as buying new cabinets. As with any project, the price for a cabinet refacing will be determined, in part, by the quality of materials selected.

Q: For years, I’ve had trouble with the paint adhering to the plaster walls in my bathroom. I’ve tried acrylic, and that’s not good at all, so I’ve tried to stick with oil-based products, which are getting more difficult to find.

The walls in the bathroom are half tile, half plaster over lath. The ceiling is plaster over diamond mesh. The area beyond the ceiling is attic with some insulation. And, because it’s a bathroom, there is moisture, but there’s also an exhaust fan. It still is moist.

A fresh coat of paint with an oil primer may last six to eight months but then begins to peel. I’ve done this repeatedly, but I’m starting to believe that’s crazy. Maybe a marine paint would be better?

A: I wouldn’t use marine paint in a bathroom. From my own experience, making sure those plaster walls are free of grease, soap scum, and hair-spray residue and using a top-quality paint are the keys to keeping the paint from peeling off bathroom walls—with or without exhaust fans.

The experts I’ve spoken with say high gloss holds up better the closer you are to the source of a lot of moisture, but I’ve never found it to matter much. Speaking of paint, I finally had the opportunity to use a no-VOC (volatile organic compounds) primer and paint in our dining room to accommodate a change in furniture styles.

I’ve never had a problem with VOCs, but a family member is sensitive to the paint odor related to them, so rather than delay the work until the next long business trip, we decided to go with water-based Zinsser’s Bulls Eye Zero primer and Benjamin Moore’s Natura no-VOC brand in New London Burgundy.

I had been wary of the performance of both primer and topcoat, only because I remember that the first generation of low-flow toilets never flushed properly and wasted more water than what they were replacing. Would no-VOC products cover as well as their less environmentally friendly predecessors? Would they live up to their claims to seal tannin and graffiti?

The primer did indeed seal tannin and covered the walls well, especially a bright red under the chair rail. The Natura went on easily, and two coats did the trick. (We used slightly less than a gallon on perhaps 300 square feet.)

Price was a shocker. Zinsser’s Zero cost $24. The Natura was $49 a gallon. But it did the job to my satisfaction.

For more information visit http://www.philly.com/

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

Have you heard about RISMedia’s Real Estate Information Network® (RREIN)? RREIN is an elite network of leading real estate companies dedicated to providing consumers and their agents with leading real estate information, and committed to the belief that Information Share Equals Market Share. Having only launched this past June 2010, the RREIN network is already comprised of 40 leading brokerages, which make up 575 offices, 30,000 agents, 167,000 closings and represents over $41 billion in transactions. How can RREIN help your recruiting efforts and differentiate your company today? For more information, email rrein@rismedia.com.

Copyright© 2011 RISMedia, The Leader in Real Estate Information Systems and Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be republished without permission from RISMedia.

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Tracey C. Velt , On Friday April 22, 2011, 6:00 am EDT

When buying a home, mean what you say and say what you mean when filling out the contract.

That's the advice of lawyer Jeff Marks, a partner with Ryan and Marks Attorneys LLP in Jacksonville, Fla. A real estate dispute in the Sunshine State illustrates his point.

Christine and Nigel Gibney contracted to buy a house from Helen and Randy Pillifant for $620,000. The purchase contract provided that the sale was "contingent upon this property appraising for no less than $620,000," according to court documents.

Two appraisals were done. One arranged by the Gibneys (the buyers) came in at $560,000. The Pillifants secured an appraisal that valued their house at $635,000. The buyers refused to close and terminated the contract.

The sellers sued for breach of contract, arguing that any appraisal of $620,000 or more obligated the Gibneys to buy the house. The Gibneys argued that any appraisal for less than $620,000 allowed them to terminate the contract.

Who's right? Florida's Second District Court of Appeal favored the would-be buyers, ruling in April 2010: "In our view, 'appraising for no less than $620,000' means that no appraisal may be less than $620,000," the court ruled. "The appraisal contingency allowed the Gibneys to terminate the contract if any appraisal valued the property at less than $620,000."

Too often, homebuyers and sellers think a contract allows for one thing, when the language says something else.

"Contingencies should be written in full sentences," Marks says. "In this case, it should have read, 'This agreement is contingent, at buyers' option, on the property appraising for at least $620,000 as determined by the appraiser for the buyers' lender,'" he says. "There's no confusion in that language."

Here are four ways to avoid making common contract mistakes.

Give yourself time to get a loan

Many contracts are contingent upon the buyer getting financing by a certain date. In today's tough lending climate, buyers are wise to allow themselves plenty of time to get mortgage approval for a loan. If the date passes and no financing has been secured, the sellers may terminate the contract and keep the earnest money deposit.

"You should also be realistic about your closing date," says Patti Lawton, a broker with Welcome Home Realty in Brunswick, Maine. "Don't try to close too quickly. There are a lot of things that need to be done properly and you must give lenders, title companies and others time."

Be specific about which items stay with the house

You've heard the story of the buyer who walked into a new home only to discover that the refrigerator and chandeliers were missing. Check the contract. As a seller, be sure you specifically state on the contract what will stay with the home. As a buyer, pay attention. Don't assume that the Sub-Zero refrigerator is yours once you close.

Know the effective date

Surprise! The contract doesn't always go into effect on the day you sign it. "In every contract, there are things that must be done within X number of days from the effective date: inspections, loan applications and approval, title searches," Marks says. "If you don't know the date that the contract went into effect, you may not have a valid contract."

Get everyone to sign

"Sometimes the home is owned by both spouses, other owners or an entity such as corporation," Marks says. "Make sure all of the parties sign the contract. If a party to the transaction fails to sign, they're not bound to perform the contract."

You've heard it before: Buying a house is one of the biggest financial decisions you're going to make. Simply said: "Take it seriously and make sure everything that's important to you is in writing," Lawton says.

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Woody Allen once said, "We're all our brother's keepers, but in my case I share that honor with the Prospect Park Zoo."

More from MainStreet.com: • 7 Simple Ways to Make Your Home Sell • How to Make a Small Home Work for You • 5 Ways to Boost Your Credit Score

Bad neighbors are nothing to laugh about, according to the Appraisal Institute. An unkempt yard, close proximity to a sex offender, or having an unfortunate commercial facility nearby (like a power plant or funeral home), can reduce the value of surrounding homes by as much as 15%.

"The impact can vary tremendously depending on a few factors: how 'bad' the bad neighbor is, the kind of neighborhood you're located in, and the type of market that exists," says Carlos Gobel, director of residential services at Integra Realty Resources in Miami.

But what exactly is a "bad" neighbor? Definitions vary, but real estate professionals say it boils down to any home or business enterprise that turns people off.

"A bad neighbor is one that has no consideration for the rest of the community," says Mindy Pordes, co-founder of Pordes Residential Sales & Marketing in Aventura, Fla. "For example, someone who doesn't take care of the outside appearance of the home, such as the gardening, painting of the outside of the home, roof, garbage and general upkeep. In addition, a bad neighbor may have constant visitors taking up parking spaces, perhaps on the street, loud house parties, dogs that bark all night or stray cats lingering around."

A "bad" neighbor can also be a business or government enterprise whose very existence drives the value of your property down. Here, the seven suprising neighbors that can reduce your home's value:

Power Plants. The data is fairly clear on the impact of power plants on nearby home values — it usually hurts them. A study from the University of California at Berkeley shows that home values within two miles of a power plant can decrease between 4% and 7%.

Landfills. A study from the Pima County (Arizona) Assessor's office shows that a subdivision located near a landfill (and all other residential factors being equal, like house size, school quality and residential incomes) loses 6% to 10% in value compared to a subdivision that isn't located near a dump.

Robert A. Simons, an urban planning professor at Cleveland State University, says that if you live within two miles of a Superfund site (a landfill that the government designates as a hazardous waste site), your home's value could decline by up to 15%.

Sex Offenders. Living in close proximity to a registered sex offender is one of the biggest downward drivers of home values. Researchers at Longwood University's College of Business & Economics conclude that the closer you live to a sex offender, the more your home will depreciate. In the paper, Estimating the Effect of Crime Risk on Property Values and Time on Market: Evidence from Megan's Law in Virginia, Longwood researchers say, "the presence of a registered sex offender living within one-tenth of a mile reduces home values by about 9%, and these same homes take as much as 10% longer to sell than homes not located near registered sex offenders."

Delinquent Bill Payers. One surprising way that neighbors can bring down the value of surrounding homes, especially in town home or condo communities, is by not paying their maintenance fees or their mortgages. "Bad neighbors bring values down by not paying their maintenance fees, in some cases their mortgage payments, and not maintaining the home's appearance," says Pordes. "These homeowners usually do not care about real estate values."

Foreclosed Homes. Perhaps the biggest single factor that drives nearby home values down is a foreclosure. A recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concludes that a neighbor's foreclosed home can slash the value of homes within 250 feet of the foreclosed properties by an average of 27%. Says Federal Reserve Governor Joseph Tracy recently in his economic outlook for 2011: "The growing inventory of defaulted mortgages continues to weigh down any recovery in the housing market... Problems in housing markets can impact economic growth."

Lackluster Landscaping. Studies show that lawn care has a big impact on surrounding home values. Virginia Tech University released a report stating that pristine landscaping can jack up the value of a home by 5% to 10%. But if the lawn looks like it just hosted the world rugby tournament, it can be a green thumb to the eye of local home prices.

Closed Schools. Sometimes, neighborhood problems can stem from local government action. For example, if a cash-strapped city or town closes a neighborhood school, that can easily steer home values south. The National Association of Realtors says that 75% of home shoppers, the quality and availability of schools in the neighborhood is either "somewhat important" or "very important."

So can you fight back against problem neighbors? In the case of a landfill, power plant or sex offender, your options are severely limited. As long as your neighbors are following the letter of the law, you'll just have to grin and bear it — or move. If not, you have every right to petition your local government authorities for a grievance and at least get the matter reviewed.

If it's a residential property causing the problem, however, you might have better options.

For starters, you can leave a polite letter left in the offending homeowner's mailbox to get his or her attention. In addition, Pordes says that if the home is located within a homeowners association or condo association, the association can send letters to the homeowner and deny the homeowner community privileges to try to ensure the homeowner complies with the community rules and maintains home values.

Most cities and towns do have ordinances against messy yards and junk-laden driveways, so check your community's rules and regulations to see what applies.

Unfortunately, many cities and towns also have landfills, power plants and other less-than desirable commercial-sized neighbors.

Most likely, you're just going to have to live with them.

___

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By NICK TIMIRAOS

Falling home prices should give aspiring homeowners the upper hand this spring, but in a growing number of locations, it doesn't feel like a buyer's market.

Blame the nearly five-year slide of home prices. Those declines, which accelerated over the past two quarters, have left many sellers unable or unwilling to lower their prices. Meanwhile, buyers remain gun shy about agreeing to any purchase without getting a deep discount.

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That dynamic has fueled buyers' appetites for bank-owned foreclosures. Those homes often hit the market at bargain prices, but they are being snapped up by investors who are paying in cash.

At a focus group earlier this month, the mood among buyers was "nasty," says Glenn Kelman, chief executive of Redfin Corp., a Seattle-based brokerage that operates in nine states. "There's a shortage of attractive inventory," he says. "Customers just keep getting outbid on the houses that they want."

It took Susan Hunter just one month to unload her home in Redondo Beach, Calif., last fall. But she has been outbid on four homes at a lower price point in Eagle Rock, an emerging neighborhood in northeast Los Angeles. Some sold to investors who paid cash. Other listings, she says, are being resold by investors at prices that she says are too high.

"It's the Wild West out here. It's a daily, tireless search," says Ms. Hunter, who works in television production and marketing. Demand is up because "we haven't been able to find homes here below $500,000 since the 1990s."

Last year, software engineer Young Hammack gave up looking to buy after being outbid on three properties. This year, he has his eye on a four-bedroom foreclosed house with a pool in Citrus Heights, Calif., that hasn't yet hit the market. He hopes to pay about half the $492,000 it fetched six years ago.

But the 32-year-old, who is relying on a 3.5% down-payment mortgage backed by the government, is at a disadvantage against buyers who can pay cash. "It's a false buyer's market," he says. "If you think prices are cheap, wait until you start putting offers in."

Many buyers are looking for discounts because they lack confidence that prices have reached a bottom, and sellers won't have much pricing power as long as buyers such as Mr. Hammack and Ms. Hunter are in no hurry. "It may take some time, but I'm willing to wait," Ms. Hunter says.

The Wall Street Journal's quarterly survey of housing-market conditions in 28 major metro areas shows inventories of unsold homes remain high but fell during the first quarter. Listings were down by nearly 25% from one year ago in Miami and Orlando, and by 12% in Phoenix and Portland, Ore., according to figures compiled by John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

Other markets, including New York's Long Island and Charlotte, N.C., still face imbalances. At the current sales pace, it would take more than 16 months to sell all homes listed for sale in each market. A balanced market typically has a six-month supply.

Meanwhile, home values fell in every metro area for the second straight quarter, according to data from Zillow Inc. Prices were down by more than 5% in Chicago and Detroit, the largest quarterly drops, to levels not seen in more than a decade.

Values have fallen so far that many sellers with equity aren't willing to drop their prices. Those without equity can't cut the prices unless the bank agrees to take a loss in what is known as a short sale. Such sales can take months to complete and fall through at the last minute, deterring some buyers. Still, short sales hit a new high, accounting for 9% of all transactions in January, according to CoreLogic Inc.

"Frankly, until we start building some equity, the market is just going to sit here and do pretty much nothing for the next few years," says Christopher Thornberg, a housing economist at Beacon Economics in Los Angeles.

Homes that don't need much repair work and that are located in choice neighborhoods near transit hubs or with good schools are in demand. "What's selling is the cream of the crop, and they sell fast," says Steve Capen, a real-estate agent with Keller Williams Realty in St. Petersburg, Fla. "If it's not cream of the crop, it's getting hammered."

Mike Morea and his family have outgrown the 800-square-foot, two-bedroom home he bought eight years ago in Seminole, Fla. He hopes the bank will approve a short sale for about $85,000 for a $50,000 loss. In December, Mr. Morea saw first-hand why buyers are more attracted to foreclosures: he bought one for himself, a $200,000 three-bedroom home in a nicer neighborhood 10 minutes away.

"That's what every seller is running into," says the 31-year-old police officer. "Nobody is going to buy your home at retail price if there are 30 foreclosures available."

While foreclosures are in demand, mortgage companies' processing problems have sharply curtailed the flow of bank-owned properties onto the market in states such as Florida, New Jersey and New York, where courts must process foreclosures.

To be sure, some of the challenges facing the housing market are easing as the economy adds jobs, boosting demand and easing mortgage delinquencies.Depressed prices coupled with low interest rates have made housing more affordable than at any time since 1975, according to Zillow.

But the legacy of the housing market's collapse has left two big structural problems. First, the huge erosion in homeowners' equity has deprived housing markets of the all-important "trade up" buyer. Even those with equity often aren't willing to sell at current market prices, exacerbating what housing analyst Ivy Zelman calls the "stuck factor."

Second, foreclosures are still weighing on housing markets. While mortgage delinquencies are down from their 2009 peak, an all-time high of 2.2 million loans were in foreclosure at the end of March, according to LPS Applied Analytics.

Economists say the "shadow inventory" of another 4 million potential foreclosures will keep a lid on prices for years. Even in markets with rising demand and falling inventory, prices won't go up because "there's too much on the horizon, so nobody's in a hurry," says Ron Leis, a broker in Sacramento, Calif.

Tighter credit standards have also left markets with fewer buyers at a time when more would help. When he needed to move into a bigger home four years ago, Todd Loewenstein sold his Redondo Beach home and began renting. "Now, we want to get back in, but it hasn't happened," says the 44-year-old technology entrepreneur.

He fell out of escrow one week before closing on an $850,000, three-bedroom home in October after the lender turned down his loan. Mr. Loewenstein, who was prepared to make a 20% down payment, says he has never missed a payment in his life and has enough savings to last several years.

But he wasn't able to meet the bank's tight income-documentation requirements. The home, which sold for $1.25 million in 2005, is still on the market. Mr. Loewenstein says he scans listings every day and is still looking to buy.

Write to Nick Timiraos at nick.timiraos@wsj.com