IRVINE, CA-California, Utah, Montana and Wyoming are among the top housing markets in the country for good health and building real estate wealth, according to RealtyTrac and Local Market Monitor. The firms report that these markets join others in Texas, North and South Dakota, North Carolina, Tennessee, Iowa and Arkansas for this distinction.

Health ratings were based on 10 factors from RealtyTrac data across three major categories. Each factor is compared to an average across a large number of US markets. Wealth ratings were added for Local Market Monitor's 22 top picks for home price appreciation. The top 12 markets were chosen by combining these factors.

“While families have many good options across the country in terms of places where healthy living is evident and the prospect of appreciating home prices is solid, there are some markets that clearly stand head and shoulders above the rest,” says Daren Blomquist, VP of RealtyTrac. “The markets considered for the health and wealth list all have strong appreciation potential. Some are healthier than others.”

Blomquist adds that the firms' recent report on the top health and wealth housing markets “not only features those top markets for appreciation, but also highlights important health- and wealth-related factors for families to research in any market before they make the decision to buy a home.”

According to Steve Roney, CEO and owners of Prudential Utah Real Estate, “Affordable homeownership with significant upside, robust economic growth and an active outdoor lifestyle are meaningful factors for all homebuyers, especially for families looking to relocate from other parts of the country. With two of our largest metropolitan markets in the top 12 markets nationwide, Utah is clearly a desirable place to live and buy a home.”

While health is extremely important to many families, it can be difficult to choose a market based on overall health because there are many different factors, adds Jake Adger, RealtyTrac chief economist. “To account for this we ranked a large number of US markets according to health ratings summarizing lifestyle, chronic disease rates and the environment. These ratings are based on 10 data points chosen from the wealth of RealtyTrac's data.”

Local Market monitor's top 22 markets for home price appreciation were used to identify the best markets for building real estate wealth. The factors of lower-than-average unemployment and high foreclosure discounts were also used to determine the overall wealth score.

In addition, Paul Scialla, founder and managing partner of wellness real estate pioneer Delos, recently spoke about the future of sustainability, wellness and global housing in real estate at the fourth annual Sages and Scientists Symposium in Carlsbad, CA, which is organized annually by the Chopra Foundation. In 2012, Delos had introduced the WELL Building Standard, the world's first building standard focused exclusively on enhancing people's health and well-being in direct, evidence-based ways through the built environment. Each Delos structure is designed to combat the onset of disease and deteriorating health, dispel current ailments and improve one's quality of life through innovative healthy-living features. The standard is intended to be applied across all building types including homes, hotels, offices, schools, community centers and hospitals.