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Will 2024 be the year the housing market gets slightly less tough?

Dec 27, 2023
High mortgage costs, low supply of houses for purchase and high rents made for a pretty bleak year. But there's a glimmer of light on the horizon.
“Single-family houses are starting to seem like a luxury good," said Chris Mayer of Columbia Business School.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Could commercial real estate still tank regional banks?

Dec 21, 2023
A new study says that 300 regional banks are at risk of collapse because of the high number of vacancies in office buildings.
The delinquency rate on office loans tripled this year, says Trepp's Stephen Buschbom.
Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images

The way real estate agents are paid could be changing. Here's how that could affect buyers and sellers.

Dec 12, 2023
Agents typically split the 5% to 6% commission when a home is sold. Rates could go lower in the wake of class-action litigation.
A wave of litigation targeting the costs to home sellers could shift the economics of real estate representation.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Home prices in Detroit are on the upswing

Nov 29, 2023
They were up 6.7% in September from a year ago, according to an index out this week from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller — the highest of the 20 metro areas.
Above, a view of Woodward Avenue in Detroit. Home prices in the city climbed 6.7% in September from a year ago, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index.
pawel.gaul/Getty Images

Why isn't there an Amazon for real estate?

Nov 8, 2023
Despite the world going digital, homebuying is still a highly analog process. James Rodriquez of Insider discusses the quest for a superapp.
While the initial house hunt can be done online, arranging inspections, figuring out escrow and other tasks tend to be done in person, on the phone and on paper.
Shaun Curry/AFP via Getty Images

WeWork could declare bankruptcy anytime, but how is it still around?

Nov 1, 2023
The company has risen and fallen on its stylish co-working spaces, larger-than-life founder and ability to rake in — and spend — investors' cash.
WeWork’s business model has always been shaky, says professor Erik Gordon at the University of Michigan.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Thanks to a Missouri jury, the way we buy and sell homes may change

Nov 1, 2023
The jurors found that the National Association of Realtors and a couple of big brokerages conspired to inflate commissions.
Homebuyers could have more power to negotiate lower agent fees, said Susan Wachter of  Wharton.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

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Most millennials are homeowners now

Sep 28, 2023
Millennials have faced challenges to homeownership for years. Now, a slim majority of millennials own a home.
As of 2022, the majority of millennials now own homes.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Franchises are big business, but they're adjusting to economic headwinds

Sep 22, 2023
Franchisees get help with marketing and branding, but the corporate parent can’t do much about high interest rates and labor costs.
McDonald's royalty fees will rise from 4% to 5% for some franchisees, according to a company email viewed by Marketplace.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

What a “de facto ban” on Airbnb means for New York City 

Sep 21, 2023
Will housing prices go down with fewer short-term renters around?
Airbnb has a long history in New York City. But New York's stance towards short-term rentals has just gone from one of the most relaxed policies out there, to one of the strictest.
Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images