The Crete House, a precast concrete structure designed for the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon competition in Denver this month, is being touted as a home that is impervious to extreme weather, fires, moisture, mold, and insects. The Solar Decathlon, being held Thursday through Oct. 15, is a biennial competition that challenges teams of college students to design and build full-sized solar-powered homes. Thirteen teams from universities
Sarasota, Fla., was named the best city in the U.S. to spend your golden years. U.S. News & World Report analyzed the 100 largest metro areas to find the top places for retirees. They factored in housing affordability, tax rates, health care quality, and surveys that gauged happiness of local residents. The following cities landed in the top 10 as best places for retirement in 2017: Sarasota, Fla. Lancaster, Pa. San Antonio Grand Rapids, Mi
Andrew Gudmunson, a real estate professional with Century 21 Action, REALTORS®, in Minot, N.D., was among the hundreds of people wounded after a gunman opened fire on a crowd of concert goers in Las Vegas on Sunday night. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, leaving 59 people dead and 527 injured, according to news reports.Gudmunson, 30, who was rushed to a Las Vegas hospital with a gunshot wound and underwent emergency sur
New Jersey continues to lead the nation with the highest annual real estate taxes in the country. The state’s residents pay an average of $8,374 a year, which is about $7,000 more than Alabama residents—who pay the lowest property taxes in the country. The findings from the 2016 American Community Survey were detailed on the National Association of Home Builders’ Eye on Housing blog.Northeastern states tend to have the highest property ta
Some 2.5 million more people than originally reported were affected by the recent Equifax data breach, the credit bureau said Monday. The estimate of the number of Americans whose personal information was potentially exposed is now 145.5 million—the largest hack on record. Cybersecurity firm Mandiant, which was hired by Equifax to investigate the hack, found the additional compromised accounts in a forensic review.The information hackers were a
The changing of the season brings several household tasks you should perform to keep your home safe as colder temperatures approach. Realtor.com® recently featured several chores to do for fall and winter preparation. Clean the dryer vents. Excess lint in a dryer can pose a fire risk. “A key indicator of a dryer vent needing to be cleaned is if clothes aren’t drying as fast as they usually do, or if it takes multiple cycles to get them com
Car lovers “want to jump in the car with their family or friends and go on scenic drives—and maybe some open spaces where they can kick up the turbo,” Tim Jackson, president of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, told realtor.com®. “Car lovers will gravitate to those cities that provide a good network of streets and roads. And they want to avoid intense congestion.”Realtor.com® researchers looked at the best and worst urban
As housing shortages persist, developers are eyeing old shopping malls—which often include large parcels of land—for redevelopment into residential projects. In California, which is suffering from severely tight housing inventory, developers are jumping on the trend. A nearly vacant mall in the San Fernando Valley, for example, will soon be turned into a residential neighborhood with 1,400 homes, retail shops, and a concert venue. And a mall
When homeowners began taking out more home equity lines of credit, economists warned that the number of defaults may rise as borrowers face higher monthly payments. But so far, fears surrounding a HELOC boom haven’t been realized.From 2000 to 2006, when home prices were rapidly increasing in the run-up to the housing collapse, many homeowners took out HELOCs, initially being required only to pay interest on outstanding balances for a set period
Home builders and designers say demand is increasing for more flexible living spaces, giving rise once again to “bonus” or “multipurpose” rooms, The Wall Street Journal reports. Such rooms offer extra square footage for owners to create a space that fits their lifestyle. Baby boomers, for example, are showing interest in bonus rooms that could potentially serve as a first-floor master bedroom or suite.Out of the 20 top-selling floor pla
This website includes images sourced from third party websites including Adobe, Getty Images, and as otherwise noted.
