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How bad will it get for office real estate?

Jun 26, 2023
Tenants are celebrating the falling rents, but record vacancies could eventually upend the market.
Office buildings in San Francisco have particularly high vacancy rates.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

New house construction is booming. Here's why most of it isn't affordable.

Jun 20, 2023
There may be more supply, but it tends to cater to demand at the higher end of the income spectrum.
Over the past decade or so, new home construction slowed and still hasn’t caught up with demand.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

As enrollments dwindle and colleges close, towns hope developers will revive abandoned campuses

Jun 1, 2023
It isn't easy to find buyers for typical cinder-block campus buildings.
Southern Vermont College called this mansion in Bennington, Vermont home for 40 years, until it closed in 2019. Now, a real estate developer wants to turn it into a luxury resort.
Henry Epp/Marketplace

There are now only 4 major U.S. cities where buying is cheaper than renting

May 25, 2023
That's good news if you're looking to buy in Philadelphia, Detroit, Cleveland or Houston, but what about the rest of us?
Even if monthly mortgage payments are higher than comparable rent, "you get the benefit of building up wealth," said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Forever homes come in all shapes and sizes — and ages and states of (dis)repair

May 23, 2023
It will need “a lot of TLC," Candice Sides said about the 19th-century log cabin she bought to be her family's eventual home.
"People think of old houses as haunted and creepy, but when I walk in, I get this warm, comfort feeling," Candice Sides said of her newly purchased cabin, above.
Courtesy Lydia Spink

How a decline in home sales also trips up retail

May 16, 2023
When people buy new homes, they buy a lot of other things too, like furniture, appliances and electronics. When home buying slows, that can have a real ripple effect on other industries.
Today’s retail sales numbers showed people spent less on things like building materials and garden supplies in April than they did a year ago. Home Depot also reported today that sales dropped in the first quarter.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Who's the "we" behind those "We Buy Houses" signs?

Apr 28, 2023
Real estate wholesalers offer convenience, but at what price?
"We Buy Houses" signs on a street corner in Baltimore. Often they're posted by real estate wholesalers.
Amy Scott/Marketplace

For public good, not for profit.

Housing price trends are split down the middle of the country

Mar 30, 2023
Prices are cooling in the West, but the market in the East is still hot. We check in with a real estate pro in the center of the divide.
A home for sale in Houston, which sits on the fault line between regions going in opposite directions.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Homebuyers keep looking for a dip in mortgage rates

Mar 29, 2023
A February rise in pending home sales likely reflects a short dip in rates earlier.
An uptick in a pending home sales in February follows lower mortgage rates from a month or two earlier.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Mortgage rates dip following bank collapse

Mar 15, 2023
The last few days have been particularly unstable for mortgage rates, which were already volatile amid recent interest rate hikes.
Mortgage rates took a dive after the closure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, marking a period of volatility tied to people's unease about the financial sector.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images