Real Estate

Burned trees from the Palisades Fire and dust blown by winds are seen from Will Rogers State Park, with the City of Los Angeles in the background, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood on Jan. 15, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Apu Gomes | Getty Images Insurance premiums were surging well before this year’s massive wildfires

The Good Brigade | Digitalvision | Getty Images Mortgage rates have risen in recent months, even as the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates. While those opposing movements may seem counterintuitive, they’re due to market forces that seem unlikely to ease much in the near term, according to economists and other finance experts. That may

Cofotoisme | E+ | Getty Images How long it takes you to save for a 20% down payment on a home depends in part on where you live.  In a pricey area such as New York City, it could take the typical buyer roughly 10.85 years to save $173,000, which is 20% of the median

The problem of stolen manhole covers in Turkey might seem an unlikely starting point for a new way for buildings to withstand earthquakes and tackle the construction industry’s environmental issues, but when a Turkish businessman heard about a new material that prevented the thefts, it sparked an idea. Cast iron is traditionally used to make

Interest rates moved lower near the end of 2024 as the Federal Reserve cut rates three times, shaving a full percentage point off the federal funds rate since September. In 2025, that trend is likely to continue. But with inflation still above the Fed’s 2% target, a strong labor market and a new administration, the central

Flames and smoke from the Palisades Fire surround a home (C) in the community of Topanga, California, on January 9, 2025.  David Swanson | Afp | Getty Images Firefighters are still working to contain the record-breaking fires that have been raging for more than a week in Southern California. The fires in the Greater Los

A completed planned development is seen in Ashburn, Virginia, on Aug. 14, 2024. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images Mortgage demand started this year stronger than it did last year, even though interest rates are higher. Total mortgage application volume last week was 7% higher than the same week one year ago, according to

Sunlight illuminates the front of a row of Victorian-era houses in a terraced street in Bristol, England.  Matt Cardy | Getty Images News | Getty Images LONDON — Hundreds of thousands of U.K. homeowners are facing the prospect of higher mortgage rates after a spike in U.K. borrowing costs. Major high street lender Virgin Money

Houses along a hillside outside Marbella on the sunny coast, Costa del Sol, in Spain. Marcus Lindstrom | Istock | Getty Images Spain is planning to impose a tax of 100% on homes bought by non-EU residents as it looks to tackle an entrenched housing crisis in the country. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on

First-time homebuyers may struggle to find adequate starter homes when the 2025 buying season begins this spring. The homes that once gave Americans a stepping stone into real estate are disappearing, according to experts. While the exact definition of a starter home varies, they’re typically under 1,400 square feet. In 2023, just 9% of the

Residential homes in Discovery Bay, California, US, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. Mortgage rates in the US increased to the highest level since July.  David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images Mortgage rates last week moved higher for the fourth week in a row. That caused already very weak mortgage demand to drop even

Housing surveyors have reported the largest fall in new buyer inquiries in October since the financial crisis, excluding the period during the Covid-19 lockdowns. Isabel Infantes | Afp | Getty Images LONDON — U.K. house prices fell for the first time in nine months in December, as the country’s Budget and higher mortgage rates dampened