U.S. homebuilding increased more than expected in January as construction of single-family housing rebounded after four straight monthly declines, but building permits for these units fell to the lowest level since mid-2017. Housing starts jumped 18.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.230 million units in January, the Commerce Department said on Friday.
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Dazey LA sweaterDazey LA On International Women’s Day, I give you a list of 42 independent businesses founded by women that sell beautiful and useful objects, clothing, and self-care wares. If I had all the time in the world, this list could be much longer. There is no dearth of female founders nowadays: A 2018 report found a 114 percent
DeepMind’s new office.DeepMind DeepMind is moving out of Google’s U.K. headquarters and into a large new London office. The artificial intelligence lab, which was acquired by Google in 2014 for around £400 million, will move into a new building in King’s Cross at some point in 2020. It will include a double helix staircase, a lecture theatre,
Strong demand for housing last year kept home prices surging, and that means more homeowners are now sitting on more cash in the form of home equity. Collectively, homeowners with mortgages saw their equity increase by just over 8 percent in 2018, according to CoreLogic. That is from a combination of home value gains and
It is impossible to build a fully fireproof home, but researchers are now focused on making homes at least fire resistant. They have to, because climate change is increasing the intensity of wildfires around the world, putting billions of dollars’ worth of real estate literally in the line of fire. Wildfires destroyed more U.S. homes
Jump over the cliff photo credit: GettyGetty How do you know if you are sitting on a unicorn or are about to throw away the next few years of your life on a pipe dream? The truth is, you never REALLY know until you give it your best shot; but taking the plunge and committing
Marigay McKeeDavid Vaughn Marigay McKee has been influential in the fashion world for decades. After her tenure at Harrods, where she rose to Chief Marketing Officer, and her three years as President of Saks, McKee decided to start her own consulting business. “As a consultant and investor one speaks less and listens more, which is
A slight rise in interest rates caused a pullback in mortgage demand last week. Total application volume fell 2.5 percent week to week, according to a seasonally adjusted index from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Volume was 2 percent lower compared with the same week one year ago. Purchase demand fell 3 percent for the week,
This is an aerial view of the Serenbe community.Photo courtesy of Serenbe. Several years ago I had the great opportunity to tour the Serenbe community. It was pure delight to walk along the paths, lined with fruit trees and other edible plants and be among this tranquil oasis. Just 30 minutes from the local airport
New York state regulators have issued a subpoena to the insurance brokerage Aon for President Donald Trump’s company as part of a large probe into the Trump Organization’s business practices. The nine-page subpoena to Aon was issued by the New York Department of Financial Services late Monday evening, according to a source familiar with the
Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin This house on Vashon Island in Washington State is 1750 SF and built with SIPs and a timber frame by FabCab architects. It was built to high levels of efficiency and certified by Built Green-3 star rating.Photo curtesy of Dale Lang for Prefabulous Small Houses published
Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin McLaren driver Fernando Alonso of Spain, center, celebrates flanked by Mansour Akram Ojjeh prior to the Emirates Formula One Grand Prix at the Yas Marina racetrack in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018. McLaren veteran Fernando Alonso’s will drives his last ride in
Home buyers are coming back to the market, possibly due to lower mortgage rates. Pending home sales, a measure of signed contracts to buy existing homes, increased 4.6 percent in January compared with December, according to a monthly survey from the National Association of Realtors. Contracts, however were still 2.3 percent lower compared with a
Sustainability was a major concern while building on the water. Exterior cladding of the house is fiber cement panels. The screen in the corner of the house is made of ipe wood and forms an enclosure for bicycle storage. A common dock is used to get from the floating home back to dry land. The
Group of young business people in smart casual wear working together in creative office photo credit: GettyGetty A few days ago, this Times article came out, causing quite a stir. All sorts of speculation was flung about. Are co-working providers now soliciting investment from buy-to-let landlords? Is this going to fuel a bubble? Will hapless investors
New York City‘s deputy mayor for housing and economic development, Alicia Glen, told CNBC on Friday, her last day in office, that she’d like to see more women running big companies — and if that were the case, deals like the now-scuttled Amazon headquarters plans for Queens might have different outcomes. “Maybe if there weren’t
Millennial homeowners have a bad case of buyer’s remorse, according to a new survey. Nearly two thirds, or 63 percent, of millennial homeowners surveyed by Bankrate.com said they had regrets about buying. That is more than any other age group, defined in the survey as people aged 23 to 38, and nearly double the regret
Puglia’s ancient vines define its landscape.Lana Bortolot Remote, rugged, rural and not as sexy as its Italian counterparts in Sicily, Rome or Florence, Puglia has been somewhat of a wallflower. But perhaps not for much longer. A recent real estate story in the New York Times featured a one-story villa compound outside San Vito dei
Photocredit: GettyGetty When you go to apply for a mortgage, your lender will look at a handful of different factors that make up your financial situation. One factor that has a huge impact is your debt-to-income ratio. Below, we’ll take an in-depth look at what a debt-to-income ratio is, how it’s used, and how to improve
The supply of homes for sale is finally rising, but fewer buyers are able to afford these homes. That could result in a much slower spring market. Spring is usually the high season for housing, but high home prices have been taking their toll for months. The numbers point to potential trouble ahead. The median
This new home on Six Pole Highway in Sag Harbor, N.Y., comes with two electric car charging stations in the heated garage.Douglas Elliman Real Estate When Zachary Tunick began constructing his newest home in Sag Harbor, he made sure to add the requisite amenities: Carrera marble counters in the chef’s kitchen, a master suite with
Home Depot‘s stock was shaken up for missing Wall Street estimates in the last quarter and it created a good opportunity for investors to buy, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Tuesday. While the home improvement company came up short in earnings and revenue in its fourth quarter report before the bell and gave a weaker-than-expected forecast
Mortgage application volume increased 3.6 percent last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Applications to purchase a home increased 2 percent for the week — the first uptick in a month — a sign of optimism in the housing market. “After four consecutive declines, purchase applications increased
Compass agent McKenzie Ryan curates her Instagram feed with photos of NYC neighborhoods and landmarks.Kimani Calliste When it comes to social media marketing for real estate, which is driven by images and personalities, Instagram has emerged a key platform. Here, a few New York City brokers with four- and five-digit followings share how they use
U.S. home sales fell in January to their lowest level in more than three years and house prices rose only modestly, suggesting a further loss of momentum in the housing market. The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday existing home sales dropped 1.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.94 million units
Designed by Jodi Berger.JLA Designs There is nothing quite like the eye of an interior designer. Having a professional choose furniture or design a room will always elevate it. This isn’t just about knowing what pieces coordinate best, which finishes to choose or what the latest trends are, but how to put it all together. I
Lower mortgage rates should have given home sales a boost in January, but they did not. Sales of existing homes fell 1.2 percent to their lowest level in more than three years compared with December and were a wider 8.5 percent lower annually, according to the National Association of Realtors. That could be good news
San Francisco housing markets offer new buyer opportunitiesGetty Buyers should revisit the housing markets in Los Angeles and San Francisco for new buying opportunities according to Selma Hepp, chief economist at the San Francisco office of Compass, the national luxury brokerage firm. “The story is there are real opportunities out there for buyers now. There
Just because you rent doesn’t mean you can’t upgrade.Stikwood According to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau housing data, as of 2017, more people in the US are renting their homes than any other time in the past fifty years. However, there is no data that reveals how many of these households wish their units had a little refresh.
If anyone can pull off Zillow‘s plan to start buying and selling homes, returning CEO Rich Barton is the one to get the job done, said RBC Capital Markets’ internet analyst Mark Mahaney. Mahaney told CNBC on Friday that Barton, who co-founded the online real estate marketplace in 2005 and led it until 2010, has