Real Estate

A couple building a high-end contemporary house close to the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., had distinct ideas about what it should be. One person favored a Moroccan courtyard-style design; the other wanted a sustainable and well-built home. It would be up to the architects to make it work—and they did, spectacularly. Sliding mesh screens

A for sale sign in front of a home in Arlington, Virginia, on August 22, 2023. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images Mortgage rates rose again last week, and so did demand for refinances, which at face value doesn’t make a lot of sense. Applications to refinance a home loan jumped 13% last week

JLL released its Construction Trends and Mid-Year Outlook several days ago, updating its 2023 Construction Outlook published in March. The new report, with its updated set of projections, highlights several hurdles the industry faces during a time of enormous economic uncertainty. Specifically, the report examines general construction industry health, along with the state of the

Artistgndphotography | E+ | Getty Images The Federal Reserve is likely to pause its aggressive interest rate hikes when it meets this week, experts predict. But consumers may not feel any relief. The central bank has already raised interest rates 11 times since last year — the fastest pace of tightening since the early 1980s. Yet recent

A recent study from PolicyGenius found that quoted homeowner’s insurance premiums increased by 21% nationally from May 2022 to May 2023. Florida experienced the largest jump with premiums increasing by 35%. The steep increases in homeowner’s insurance costs contribute to the already intractable housing affordability crisis, as homeowners must allocate more of their incomes to

U.S. homebuilders are feeling pessimistic about their business for the first time in seven months, thanks to stubbornly high mortgage rates. Builder confidence in the single-family housing market fell 5 points in September to 45 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The decrease follows a 6-point drop in August. Anything

Yesterday I attended a fascinating real estate investors’ conference for hedge funds, lenders and owners. The talk of the conference was the almost complete inability of landlords (other than owners of tier 1 properties), to get any financing at all, except at exorbitant rates around 15% which is more than double the current financing that

It might seem obvious that you’d want to work with a broker who has high standards when you’re selling your home or commercial property. Certainly, there are various requirements that salespeople must have to operate in the market. However, it can be important to check for signs that the broker will act ethically throughout the

EmirMemedovski | E+ | Getty Images This August, two years into their relationship, Yumi Temple and her boyfriend, Daniel, moved into their first apartment together, in Denver. It was Temple’s first time living with another person, outside of family, and she quickly learned there was a lot to navigate. The couple decided to see a

Given the size of their enormous cohort, Millennials wield incredible clout to change society. Since maturing into young adults, they’ve been fingered as culprits behind the demise of a great many societal habits and norms, from the donning of business suits and the shopping of department stores to the use of banks and golf clubs.

Prometheus Materials has a solution for replacing one of the biggest contributors of greenhouse gasses, financial backing from Microsoft and an aggressive plan to scale up quickly. By Amy Feldman, Forbes Staff We love concrete. We use it everywhere — skyscrapers, data centers, roofs, sidewalks, homes. The problem is, concrete doesn’t love us. Its key

A “For Rent” sign outside an apartment building in the East Village neighborhood of New York, US, on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images Manhattan renters may have reached their “affordability threshold” in August, as median rents remained at record high, according to a new report. The median rent in

On the surface, the news from the New York City office sector may look grim: vacancy rates nearing 20%, occupancy rates stubbornly stuck at around 50%, interest rates rising, values dropping, anemic investment sales activity and owners giving keys back to lenders. Fortunately, that isn’t the full story. As I discussed in my previous Forbes

Whether you’re selling your home or commercial property, the broker you work with during the process can make a significant difference. This is especially true in today’s market, which faces several factors including a shortage of homes and rising interest rates. It may be necessary to find the right buyer for your place, and that

In a recent study, we analyzed and identified the richest cities in New York state based on scoring several key financial factors. This time around, we’re looking at New York’s neighbor to the south — New Jersey, the Garden State. We analyzed over 700 cities in the state in order to identify the richest cities

Today is September 11, 2023. Twenty-two years ago today, I watched with astonishment as planes plowed into the World Trade Center. Then, I closed my offices so everyone could go home, and walked up the middle of Madison Avenue, without a car in sight, to return to my apartment. Even from East 78th Street, we

The residential real estate market rarely rocks headlines—despite economically accounting for the largest single share of U.S. gross domestic product (+/- 17%). The Great Recession pushed real estate front and center in the media for a while as the banks collapsed back in 2008. Covid subsequently upended where and how people wanted to live and

In the past decade, the American urban landscape has transformed remarkably, with certain cities emerging as meteoric growth hubs. The pace of their expansion is not just evident in their burgeoning skylines or swelling populations, but also in the shifting economic tides that bring prosperity to their residents. The consequent change in income levels becomes

There’s tremendous interest from American homeowners in making their living spaces healthier, safer and more resilient, but many are holding off on starting projects, according to home improvement platform Houzz in its latest survey. “One in seven homeowners has put their home renovation project on hold (15%),” according to results from its online survey published

It hasn’t been too long since the world reeled at the first news of existential threats to bees and other pollinators. Addressing the problem by cultivating bees and beehives started as a pandemic-era passion, and has since generated a lot of buzz across North America, from major corporate employers in Denver to residential high-rise rooftops