Real estate

Real estate

With the prolonged downturn in the market, a lot of our focus, whether that's internally for our own operations or for title agents across the country, has been, How do we create leverage, whether that's broad AI tools, support and title production, and so on?' he said. Obviously, a prolonged downturn has everybody taking a look at their businesses and how do you not overstaff when the recovery comes? It always comes at some point.

The reason mortgage rates are near yearly lows as we end the year is that the labor market has softened and mortgage spreads have returned to near-normal levels. Without these two variables, mortgage rates would have stayed higher for longer. My 2026 forecast is for the 10-year yield to range between 3.80% and 4.60%, and for mortgage rates to range from 5.75% to 6.75%.

First-time buyers are expected to drive the UK housing market in 2026, with further interest rate cuts likely to improve stretched affordability. The for-sale market should accelerate moderately, with prices rising by 2% to 4%, while rent rises are likely to slow from the rapid increases of recent years, according to lenders and estate agents.

Retailers such as Dollar General and Nordstrom Rack plan major store expansions in the US in 2026. Store openings are outpacing closures so far, with nearly 300 closures announced for 2026. From Uniqlo to L.L. Bean, see what retailers have said about plans to open new stores next year.

Just like the characters he first became famous for, the 95-year-old actor and director resides out west-primarily in Carmel, California, the ritzy coastal town where he once served as mayor. A San Francisco native, Eastwood became a star in the mid-'60s for his portrayal of the Man with No Name in Sergio Leone's trilogy of spaghetti Westerns, A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Thinking about selling land without a realtor? You're not alone, and the good news is that it's absolutely possible to successfully sell your property on your own. While the process requires some effort and planning, many landowners find that selling vacant land without a realtor gives them greater control over the sale and saves thousands of dollars in commission fees.

A bridge loan is a short-term financing option that helps homeowners "bridge" the gap between buying a new home and selling their existing property. Think of it as a financial stepping stone that provides temporary funding when you need to make a down payment on a new house before your current home sells. These loans are specifically designed for situations where timing doesn't quite line up.

For us, the biggest bang for the buck and the biggest ongoing opportunity has been around using AI to automate what I sort of think of as moments in our production process, whether that's escrow or title. I call them moments just because they're little tasks, they're big tasks, they're processes. But these opportunities abound in a title and escrow production operation.

My base for the weekend is a gorgeous, topsy-turvy Georgian townhouse built in 1835 and perched on the secluded, leafy Hawley Square. The square itself is steeped in history, having been developed in the 1760s as a reaction to the rise in visitors being advised by medical professionals to "take in the sea air." How very Jane Austen of them.

Jeff DerGurahian, chief investment officer and head economist at loanDepot, said he doesn't expect meaningful movement for mortgage rates without clearer signals from upcoming employment and inflation reports. Markets are currently pricing in a near 90% chance of a 25-basis-point cut in one of the first three Fed meetings of 2026, with consensus calling for two cuts next year and a one-in-three chance of three, DerGurahian said.

Rents in New York City are reaching never-before-seen levels even for the city's wealthiest. An apartment at the Benson, Naftali Group's 15-unit luxury condominium on the Upper East Side, rented for $95,000, or $288 per foot, this week. For a 12-month term, the price per square foot appears to be one of the highest in the city's history. Douglas Elliman's Lauren Muss, John Giannone and Jac Credaroli had the listing.

These debates, while legitimate, have become distractions from larger challenges, and while we argue over how to slice a shrinking pie, millions of Americans are starving for a slice of the American Dream. Eales acknowledged the plethora of legislative proposals devoted to improved housing affordability. These include some of the provisions in the ROAD to Housing Act and the More Homes on the Market Act, which focuses on changing the current capital gains tax exemption limits.

Despite reported concerns of a slowdown and deterrants for wealthy buyers, the borough still nabbed its second-biggest period for luxury contracts since 2006, when Olshan Realty began tracking data. Buyers inked deals for more than 1,400 homes asking $4 million or more this year, up 11 percent from 2024, according to the brokerage's annual report. The signed contracts totaled just under $12 billion, up from just $11.2 billion last year.

There has not been a lot of growth in the HECM space, Mayer said. New originations have almost entirely been driven by what the 10-year rate is in the market. HECMs go up when the 10-year rate goes down, and HECMs go down when the 10-year rate goes up. I do think we're going to see some growth in the HECM space in 2026, but the bulk of it is in proprietary products.

The U.S. median home sale price reached a new all-time high of $446,000 in June. Overall, prices in 2025 remained above last year's then-record levels, with every month surpassing the corresponding median sale price from 2024. When averaging for the entire year, 2025's median sale price was 1.7% higher than 2024-around $7,400. Affordability remained a major issue for buyers and sellers, especially as tariffs, inflation, and elevated mortgage rates the economy.

The year 2025 is widely considered by real estate experts to be a year of normalization for the U.S. housing market, moving away from the extremes of the pandemic era. This shift is characterized by a more balanced market with increased inventory and a slower pace of price growth, though it is not expected to be a dramatic price correction or a buyer's market nationally.

The cost of living in the United States is dramatically different across the many states. While some states are home to affordable housing, lower taxes, and modest everyday expenses, others demand a far higher price for shelter, access to jobs, amenities, and lifestyle factors. In these high-cost states, residents often struggle in the face of rising housing prices, high utility bills, and even extravagant costs for essentials like food, transportation, and healthcare.

"She may be an Academy Award-nominated actor with two films hitting theaters this month-The Testament of Ann Lee and The Housemaid-but that doesn't mean she lives in Hollywood. Okay, she has a house there, but it's not her main home. That would be a farm in the Catskills in upstate New York, where she cares for a brood of animals and her two children, ages eight and five, with her husband, fellow actor Thomas Sadoski."

My dad, who grew up poor and lost his father as a teenager, had cultivated a knack for stretching every penny he earned. Years before we moved to the U.S., he squirreled away what he could, which helped him get settled in Pennsylvania when a locally headquartered company offered him a job on an H-1 Visa. Several months after my dad settled in the U.S., my mom, my brother, who was just six months old, and I joined him.

I am a man in my late 20s, and I have rented the same three-bedroom house with my best friend, "Gail," since we graduated college seven years ago. Gail is a woman, but she is gay, and there has never been anything between us. The landlord likes us since we are quiet and clean. He has barely raised the rent.

A status symbol, it denotes power and implies economic dominance, but behind its exclusive privilege lies one of the most disparate ownership models in the Western world. The concentration of land in the hands of a small group of owners is an anomaly in the United Kingdom, and generates a profoundly unequal structure that causes tension and can lead to abuse of power.

Considering Paris Hilton is worth an estimated $300 million to $400 million, it might seem odd that she reportedly took out a mortgage on her recent home purchase. Hilton, whose vast wealth comes from 19 product lines, real estate, media and entertainment, brand partnerships, and her reality show, The Simple Life, bought actor Mark Wahlberg's former estate in Beverly Hills earlier this year for a whopping $63 million.

Japan has no shortage of amazing hotels. From technologically savvy Tokyo suites to luxury forest retreats to playful boutique stays, travellers might have a hard time picking just one. But space can be limited, and not all hotels can cater to those once-in-a-lifetime large group trips. Finding the right lodging can sometimes dim the excitement of trip planning, especially when having to worry about factors like group sizes, access to certain amenities such as ryokans, and privacy.

The growth in online retail has fallen back and flatlined at between 26% and 28% of overall retail sales since a peak of 35% in mid-2020. Retail has outperformed all other types of commercial property this year, with 9.2% returns on investments in the year to September, Knight Frank said. This is ahead of industrial properties, at 9.1% and offices at 3.2%.

Awaterfront pool, a private spa with saunas, a 9-hole golf course, a 24-hour butler: there are plenty of luxurious amenities that the ultra-exclusive Residences at Six Fisher Island is offering to their tenants, who will pay $15 million and above for units in a building set to open in 2026 in the richest ZIP code in the country. But there's one amenity developers are betting will be their secret weapon in luring prospective buyers: a residents-only restaurant.

The land around Hassayampa Ranch, 50 miles west of Phoenix, is dotted with saguaro cacti and home to coyotes, jackrabbits, and rattlesnakes. Its few hundred human residents were largely drawn by the tranquility and clear skies for stargazing. But several of the biggest names in Silicon Valley are suddenly very interested in what happens on this serene stretch of desert.

TinyKiwi.house has created something refreshingly honest in the Ambra tiny home. While the tiny house movement has evolved into a realm of increasingly elaborate and expensive builds, this Romanian company took a different approach. Their smallest model strips away the excess and focuses on what matters: delivering a functional, beautiful home for two people in just 161 square feet. The Ambra stands as proof that downsizing doesn't mean compromising on quality or livability.

The widely popular The Orphan Girl in Ballymoney, Co Wexford, has officially been sold following a recent auction. Sold during a final the auction of 2025 for Quinn Property, the sale took place on Thursday, December 18 inside The Orphan Girl to show bidders the potential in store for the bar and grill. Over 20 bidders took part in the auction both, at the venue and online.

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5. Columbia County Federal With Charm-Filled Interior, Barn Asks $1.9 Million In Columbia County, an extensive landscape of 67 acres ranges from secluded woods to rolling lawns and includes a 19th century brick main house filled with lovingly cared for period details and enough outbuildings to hold guests and a multitude of hobbies. With an address of 3 Pratt Road, the house on the market is in the small hamlet of Malden Bridge near the Kinderhook Creek.

Living in residences designed by renowned modern architects is a dream sought after by many. Projects that have become iconic are major attractions for new residents who value both the authorial signature and history of the building, as well as the innovative architectural solutions that have contributed to the prominence of such projects. As for the work of Oscar Niemeyer, fluidity and flexibility may best express his plans and typologies.

The five-star hotel, housed within the Grade II-listed former Pearl Assurance building on High Holborn, is understood to be attracting interest from global investors as confidence returns to prime London assets. The Rosewood London opened in 2013 and has since established itself as one of the city's most sought-after luxury destinations. Known for its grand Edwardian architecture, landscaped courtyard and discreet service, the hotel features 264 bedrooms and 44 suites, the Holborn Dining Room restaurant, and 11 event spaces.

The lawsuit alleges that the property owner and the management board, among others listed, had a breach of fiduciary duty by misusing Vietnam Town member fees "without the consent" rather than using the funds for structural repairs at Vietnam Town. Nguyen said that Vietnam Town tenants pay monthly homeowners association fees that range from about $400 to $500, depending on the square footage of a space, with each space considered a condo unit at the plaza.

Per reporting from the Los Angeles Times' Studios arm, Monrovia-based Trader Joe's has spent eight figures on a 1.4-acre parcel just over a mile inland from the coast. The corner site doesn't just offer premium visibility for high-net-worth locals in Santa Monica, where the median home price is over $1.8 million, it also offers 125 parking lot spaces and over 17,000 square feet of retail possibilities, both larger than the average Trader Joe's store.