Austin, Texas, ranked number one for the second year in a row as the top place to live in the United States, according to new rankings released by U.S. News & World Report. The magazine ranks the 125 largest metros based on affordability, employment prospects, and quality of life each year.“When deciding on a place to settle down, it’s important to understand that where a person lives can impact their well-being,” says Kim Castro, execu
Median prices for luxury homes in the Santa Monica, Calif., ZIP code of 90401 have surged 60.7 percent over the last year, making it the hottest high-end ZIP code in the country, according to a new analysis by realtor.com®. The site’s researchers culled housing data from April 2016 through March 2017 for more than 600 ZIP codes where median list prices are above $1 million. They compared that 12-month period to the previous year to identify th
A homeowner’s personality can have a big influence on their behavior when it comes to home improvement projects, according to a new survey by the Home Projects Council, a group of home improvement experts that aims to help homeowners improve their property values.The Home Projects Council identified the following five home improvement personality types: The Sensible Improver, the Project Planner, the Reliable Renovator, the Visionary, and the
A new program that sets out to help spark an early interest in real estate among inner-city teens is borrowing some star power to grow its efforts. Project Destined, which recently won the support of former baseball legend Alex Rodriguez and singer-actress Jennifer Lopez, teaches teens financial literacy through investments in real estate. The teens are taught how to value and finance local apartment buildings and then are given the opportunity
If the housing market has a say, the Philadelphia Eagles will emerge victorious against the New England Patriots in this weekend’s Super Bowl LII, the National Association of REALTORS® predicts. But NAR isn’t judging its pick based on defensive or offensive plays. Instead, its forecast is based on both teams’ housing markets. NAR’s prediction looks at the home price increases of the two competing cities, while realtor.com’s looks at h
As more states legalize marijuana for recreational and medical purposes, the housing industry is increasingly looking to embrace it as a building material too, The New York Times reports.North Carolina boasts the first modern U.S. hemp house, which was constructed in 2010. About 50 homes in the country have since popped up with hemp built in.Hemp structures date back to Roman times. But now, some builders want to bring it back to their markets
Home shoppers are embracing virtual reality, saying they believe the technology will make the buying and selling process simpler and quicker, according to a new Coldwell Banker survey. The survey, which was released Monday—a day before the kickoff of CES 2018, the technology industry’s most prominent tradeshow—also shows that smart-home features are at the top of buyers’ wish lists. Coldwell Banker is sponsoring the Smart Home Marketplace
Some places may be more inspiring than others for keeping your goals on track for the new year.Realtor.com®’s research team analyzed the 100 largest U.S. metros to figure out where it’s easiest for residents to keep their top new year’s resolutions, like getting healthier, putting finances in order, improving their minds, or setting out to find adventure.To determine the best places to get healthy, the research team looked at the number of
Interior designers are trained to know what works and doesn’t work in a home. Some designers recently advised against purchasing certain home furnishings, whether you are staging a home or moving into one. Avoid these interior design eyesores for the sake of a home’s style:Overstuffed chairs.“I get that lounge chairs are comfortable, but they’re truly the elephant in the room,” Karen Gray-Plaisted, a home staging and decor pro with D
From techniques to make listing photos pop to methods for staging small spaces, these were the design crazes that made the biggest difference in home sales. We strived to offer both news and practical advice in our home and design section throughout the year, but we also kept an eye on forthcoming trends. As you can see, our roundup of 2018 design trends—which was published only this month—quickly became our most popular design article of
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