How much weight do you give a crime map?

Question

I'm looking at different properties in the St Louis area I keep finding deals in areas that on the trulia crime map is in the level 2/3 of the shading.  Listening to the podcasts, most guys say to stay away from the high crime (obviously), but what about the more moderate levels?  How much weight do you give that map on making an initial decision?

Frankie Woods · Answer

STL is blowing up right now.  If you are serious, talk to locals in the area (e.g., PMs, Realtors, Police, City Planning).  Aggregate data is only a start to your research.  And generally, the data is lagging  the actually trends that boots on the ground can provide.

Brandon Heimsoth · Answer

If you’re talking St. Louis City (not St. Louis county), stay away from north city (north of Delmar is the line) and go from there. There are posts that detail different areas of south city but there are some areas that are different block to block.

Brian K. · Answer

I would check local city PD's website for map or info on crime in the area. See if you can connect with locals in the area to weed out some of the known rough areas.

Ned Carey · Answer

Keep in mind that crime may go unreported in some areas. Sometimes the worst areas are the most underreported.

Liz Heisler · Answer

I live and invest in STL if you want to talk about specific areas. I agree with the others in this thread who have said that the data maps are only a starting point. Many areas of the city vary block to block and you may end up missing out on great investment opportunities if you avoid areas solely based on the heat map data.

Tom R. · Answer

Crime maps are rarely accurate. Trulia showed the crime rate for my city to be the same across the entire city last time i checked.

Max Householder · Answer

Hi Chris! I would check out Crime Reports dotcom for more granular data. Like someone said above, a lot of times petty crimes can skew the hot/cold zones. The crime reports map allows you to filter by type of crime, time of day, and time period (past week, past 3 months etc.). Obviously violent crimes like murder, assault, and robbery are more concerning than property crimes. Also check on the specifics of each incident. A lot of the assault incidents are simple assault/domestic which should be less concerning for you as a landlord than assault with a deadly weapon. When you filter the data down like this, it becomes a lot clearer where the no-go areas are vs. fringe/transition areas where you might get some car break-ins overnight, but you're unlikely to get mugged.

I live and invest in St. Louis city so if you want more information on specific neighborhoods or properties, shoot me a DM. Good luck!

Sam Shueh · Answer

St Louis, MO- If it was me I run.....  A past client also a realtor she moved to SL suburb and renting. I asked why the heck she got properties every where and lease a house to live in.  She replied. Do you know how much risk a landlord take even being in inner city and terrible return in equity?

Kyle Burrows · Answer

Not sure what data the trulia crime map is based on but there are other websites that provide detailed crime statistics of a given area. city-data is one of them. I agree that it would be best to get an idea of what the area is like from the locals because I've seen how these maps can be a little inaccurate. For instance, the map might say that the crime in one city might be high but it doesn't break it down by neighborhood. So even if the majority of the crimes in an area come from only a couple neighborhoods, the entire area's crime rate looks bad. Definitely best to hear it from the locals.

How much weight do you give a crime map?

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