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Church? Apartments? As youth population drops, developers reimagine schools

Oct 18, 2022
Following the 2008 recession, people had fewer kids. Now, districts need fewer schools and are selling them to people with big dreams.
A potential buyer looks out the window of the empty library in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary/Middle School in northwest Baltimore, which has been closed since 2020.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace

Many Chinese homebuyers are paying mortgages on homes they may never live in

Sep 14, 2022
With real estate firms in financial distress, thousands of people are left with unfinished condos. Some are trying to fight back.
Last year, musician Chen Peng took Marketplace to the development in Zhengzhou where he bought a two-bedroom condo. The development remains unfinished today.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

Evergrande investors in China are worried but holding on

Oct 26, 2021
Evergrande is among the three biggest property developers in China and it seems to have the backing of the Chinese communist party.
Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin overlooking China's communist party 100th birthday celebrations on Beijing's Tiananmen square. This photo was widely circulated in China's business press and boosted the perception that Evergrande is too big to fail.
Screenshot of Sina

Evergrande crisis hits China's investors, homebuyers

Sep 23, 2021
The Chinese property giant Evergrande was known as a risky business operator, but for years investors didn't seem to care — until now.
Evergrande could manage its debt while real estate values climbed, but in many places sales have weakened and regulators have made it harder for developers to borrow.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

How two New York bodegas explain a glut of shopfronts for rent

Nov 16, 2018
One couldn't afford rent in a hip neighborhood; the other survives on pricey specialties.
American Deli Market in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn recently closed after about 20 years in business.
Janet Babin/Marketplace

Voters in a California city weigh taxing vacant properties to help ease homelessness

Oct 11, 2018
If the Oakland measure is approved, it would be the state's first such tax.
Homeless advocate Candice Elder checks in with Dorothy Smith at an encampment in Oakland in August. Smith, who raised her children in the city, said her disability benefits are not enough to afford housing.
Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED

Why sports teams are getting into the real estate business

Oct 3, 2018
The Green Bay Packers are the latest team seeking gains from a stadium adjacent development.
Brian Giesen/Flickr

For public good, not for profit.

Real estate tech firm Opendoor gets cash infusion from SoftBank

Sep 28, 2018
Here’s a very different way to sell a home from the usual: Go to a website. Plug in your address. Answer a few questions about the house. And wait about 24 hours to see if you get a cash offer. A handful of companies are buying up houses this way, including Zillow. The biggest player […]

California will be a battleground for the rent control debate this November

Jul 10, 2018
According to a poll, 60 percent of California voters favor limits on how much landlords can charge.
A "For Rent" sign is seen on a building Hollywood, California, May 11, 2016.
ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

Coffee Bean speeds back to New York as retail real estate slows

Jun 26, 2018
New York or LA? Headlines in recent years have been all about people leaving the Big Apple in droves, heading for SoCal. But sometimes the flow does ebb. Witness the announcement today from LA-based Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. It’s planning to open 100 new locations in New York City over the next decade. What’s […]