Real Estate

Finding reasonably-priced real estate in New York City is no simple task. So if you happen to be breezing through the apartment listings looking for your next home, you may come across this one-bedroom unit in an adorable East Village co-op building. But before you start packing boxes and updating your magazine subscriptions, you may want to look a bit closer. Listed at $2,500, the apartment is extremely charming.

You might not think an empty house or apartment as an especially beautiful thing. There’s a reason why houses are staged when they go on the market, and that is because people usually think of empty houses and apartments as sad and lonely. But, after you’ve signed on the dotted line and the home is yours, the emptiness can be a spectacular vision. Instead of loneliness, the space is a blank slate for all the happy memories (and awesome decor) to come.

There are Disney fans, and then there are Disney fans. The owner of this house for sale in Windermere, Florida is the latter, as nearly every room is decked out in magical memorabilia. A few classic Disney character lawn ornaments hint at what’s inside, but you might not be prepared for the level of fandom this house exhibits. From the foyer to nearly every room, there’s a theme, and tons of corresponding objects, from stuffed animals, to fabric, to murals.

If you’re a homeowner, the threat of a big, unexpected expense might be keeping you up at night. But if that’s what you’re losing sleep over, you’re not alone. In fact, a recent study from NerdWallet found that the main anxiety shared among homeowners was financing (65%). The simple secret to maintaining a great-looking house without having it drain your bank account? Never falling behind in upkeep.

Historic homes are full of charm, and they’re usually also full of problems… problems that need expensive repairs. Not so with this Brooklyn townhouse, which has been thoughtfully restored to preserve the home’s 19th-century details while adding modern amenities for 21st-century buyers.

On May 1, 2017, my partner and I squeezed all of our remaining belongings into an overstuffed Hyundai Elantra and departed on a one-way trip from Toronto to Vancouver. I say remaining belongings because an 2008 Elantra is no U-Haul. Tony Bennett may have left his heart in San Francisco but we left all of our furniture in the Salvation Army loading bay.

As a long-time New Yorker with over a dozen years in the Big Apple under my belt, the idea of moving to another city always seemed pretty laughable. Why would I bother when the best of everything can be found in NYC? Of course, crippling rents, frigid winters and soon-to-be-defunct subway lines can also be found in NYC.

The best piece of advice I received when I moved from Toronto to Vancouver last year came from a family member who had more than one major move under his belt. Having experienced the anxiety of packing and the self-doubt that comes with paring down, he told me, “you’re always going to throw away stuff that you wish you kept and bring stuff that you wish you left behind.

Pop quiz: In which state is it illegal to milk another person’s cow, give your child a silly haircut and take more than three sips of beer while standing? Texas, of course. Unless you’re an outlaw dairy farmer with a mullet (to match your kid’s hairdo) who drinks her beer on the run, it’s unlikely the feds will come after you for any of the above indiscretions.

I’m a Southern California native who never meant to live in Los Angeles. I’ve now lived here twice—interrupted by a three-year stint in New York City. I’m asked about New York versus Los Angeles often enough that I now have a canned reply: I had a deep love affair with New York City, but Los Angeles and I are friends.

Inspections, closing costs, and loans—oh my! Buying a home is one of the most stressful experiences a couple can share. With so many variables to consider (finances, location, simple matters of taste, etc.), it may feel like every day could bring a new opportunity to argue—but it doesn’t have to be that way. Besides, the home-buying process offers enough trying hurdles as is—there’s no need to conjure your own.

Don’t get me wrong— I love New York City. The caliber of cuisine, the convenience of cabs, the irreplaceable energy of eight million pavement-pounders who are craving to shake up their industries. But after living there for years what I wanted more than designer sample sales or expertly crafted cocktails or spontaneous adventures in the city that never sleeps is, well, sleep. I was tired of the town and ready to relocate.

So you just bought your first home—congrats! Now comes the fun part: settling into your new digs by filling it with necessary items. But after you spent all that money on securing your new home, you might not want to spend any more on the boring organization and maintenance tools homeownership requires. Save your dough for nesting, and get moving-in done with these essential 12 finds from Home Depot, all under $30.

My husband and I have our own outrageous life bucket list—big stuff like visiting all seven continents, going to a Super Bowl (him), touring Dollywood (me). Also on the list was to live in New Orleans—and after eight years of bustling city life in NYC, we drove a U-Haul filled with 800-square-feet worth of furniture along with one fat cat to the Crescent City. Check! There’s just something about New Orleans that gets to you.

More than half (57%) of new homeowners believe they could remodel an entire room without any help from a professional. Millennials are even more confident in their DIY abilities, with 64% ready to tackle a remodeling project on their own. That’s according to a Home Depot survey of 1,000 new homeowners, age 25 and up, who had purchased a home in the past year.

If you think Texas real estate is all ranches and mansions, this Houston abode will blow away all your stereotypes about the Lone Star state. This refined, masterfully renovated home has an elegant (if unassuming) exterior, but on the inside, it’s full of huge windows, beautiful built-ins and sophisticated finishes.

Sure, that old Victorian home seems great now. It has original floorboards and the crown molding is so charming. But once you purchase, every creaky step will send a shiver up your spine: One wrong move and the whole place could crumble down faster than you can say “poor house.” It’s a scary thought, but you’re not alone. In fact, threat of costly repairs is the number one stress for homeowners.

Whether you’re looking to downsize or are just engaging in a little couple’s therapy courtesy of online real estate listings, here’s a list you’ll love to browse. Redfin released their findings on the top ten tiny houses currently for sale in the U.S., and you can take a peek inside each one.

The term “Old Hollywood” is usually used to describe red carpet fashion, but it’s also a fitting term to describe the singular style of this 1920s Los Angeles condo. This home is decked out with the kind of architectural features and design details that, much like the movies of that era, will prompt you to say, “They just don’t make ’em like that anymore.

Is there anything worse than job hunting? Editing your resume, sending out applications, and writing cover letters are grueling work. Then actually going on interviews, it is all exhausting. You have to sell yourself to company after company and hope that one of them likes you and you like them back. But did you know that the city you live in might be affecting your job search? Maybe you feel like there are too many amazing opportunities to choose from.

Do you love visiting an island, but also enjoy experiencing all four seasons? Are you the kind of person who loves the beach but also loves the snow? If that is the case, there is a perfect opportunity waiting for you in upstate New York. And it only costs $3 million! Who hasn’t dreamt of owning their own private island? There are a variety of reasons for why you’d want to live secluded.

We’ve all heard that everything old is new again. That’s why it’s no wonder that some of Hollywood’s biggest names avidly embrace the unique world of Mid-Century Modern architecture. Whether they’re frequent house flippers or just design obsessed, here’s a roundup of stars with excellent taste who have snagged some of the country’s most exquisite Mid-Century designs.

The whole point of a tiny home is to cut down on size, but still have an optimal living space, right? Many tiny home designers have to get creative when making the layout of their home. But they don’t always manage to include interior designs that everyone would enjoy. Not this little coastal tiny home, though. The Coastal Craftsman has got you covered on the interior design vibes.

If the last year has made you think the end of days might actually be nigh, you aren’t alone — and it’s no longer just the tinfoil-hat-wearing crowd, either. Luxury doomsday condos are now a thing. If you have a few million to invest and a fear of the apocalypse, either caused by mankind’s folly or natural phenomena, luxury property developers like Larry Hall have just the condos of your preparedness dreams.

Nearly 3 of 4 house hunters call it "essential."

Fleeing the city for views of trees instead of skyscrapers doesn’t have to mean leaving behind a love of streamlined, forward-thinking design. This Connecticut escape offers a respite from the city and the chance to live like an architect.

In order to combat its growing affordable housing issue the city of Tempe, Arizona is slated to break ground on a community of relatively low-priced tiny homes on city-owned land next spring. The desert city just outside Phoenix has seen an average rent increase of $200 per month since 2015. The community of 12 “micro-estates,” as the developers are calling them, will sit on approximately an acre of land with each home coming in at 600 square feet.

As if selling your home wasn’t stressful enough already — from the emotional freefall of saying goodbye to the place you live, to the logistical nightmare of packing up and moving all of your worldly belongings — it costs a hell of a lot of money to do it, too. The costs associated with selling a median-priced U.S. home total about $13,357, according to a report by Zillow and Thumbtack.

Soaring ceilings, exposed brick, and an updated kitchen are usually features that top city dwellers’ dreamiest real estate wish lists, and this pre-war abode checks all the boxes. Even better, it’s located in the appealing Flatiron district, so you don’t have to sacrifice location for style.

Where you live is important. Not because of the location, but because it is your home. But, if we could live in Beverly Hills, we would in a heartbeat. Zedd (AKA Anton Zaslavsk) has 9,400 square-foot home that literally every millennial would dream of living inside of. It is so cool, it even has a Costco room. “I saw an ad for this house, which was way too expensive, but I asked if I could look at it for inspiration—like, if I wanted to build my own house.

Judging by some of the most creatively upcycled properties on the market, the prospect of going to church and staying there has become increasingly popular. Following in the footsteps of several former houses of worship that are now stylish homes, this converted church on the outskirts of Amsterdam is up for sale, and much like its similarly renovated counterparts, the residence is absolutely fabulous. The two-story Dutch dwelling is located at Singelstraat 26 in Muiden.

Sitting on twelve acres of pristine Western prairie, this upcycled tiny house is really two salvaged shipping containers — combining one Montana architect’s wanderlust, sustainable vision, and homesickness into a modern Western retreat that he calls a “stargazer’s dream.

Like Honeycomb cereal, America’s big, yeah yeah yeah. (It’s not small, no no no.) But a new survey shows that maybe we’re finally ready to embrace smaller living — or at least the idea of it. More than half of Americans (53%) polled by the National Association of Home Builders said they were at least willing to consider living in a tiny home, defined as less than 600 square feet.

If you consider yourself a fan of comedy, no doubt the garage turned recording studio of this cozy Spanish-style bungalow tucked into the hills of Highland Park will be as familiar to you as the back of your hand. And WTF, it could actually now be yours.

Earlier this month I saw a property for sale that was so swoon-worthy I wrote a rom com about it. Not to be outdone, Sotheby’s International Realty posted this gorgeous Maine estate and once again I’ve found myself with a property muse of the highest caliber. Morning- EXT. Islesboro, Maine. RECENTLY DIVORCED WOMAN IN HER EARLY FIFTIES is sipping a cup of coffee on the porch of her new property.

With homelessness on the rise in New York City due to government funding cuts, rising rents and stagnating wages, the overburdened shelter system is failing those who need it most. As the government works to figure out how to support the cities homeless, many of whom are working but simply can’t afford the city, individual architecture and design firms are also considering new and inventive ways to provide low-cost or free housing.

Fresh off his breakup with model Gigi Hadid, pop star Zayn Malik has scooped up a sweet bachelor pad in SoHo. The 3,597 square foot 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom penthouse loft is located at 63 Greene Street in a former silk warehouse that was built in 1877 and recently converted to condos by AEON Partners.

There’s a reason for that tired saying about real estate: It’s all about “location, location, location.” The quality of a neighborhood was a top concern for 60% of recent homebuyers, according to a 2017 report by the National Association of Realtors. And real estate website Trulia found that 85% of its users who plan to buy a home in the next year and a half said that the neighborhood was equally or more important than the house itself.

Mindy Kaling has already moved on to her new home, but she recently just sold her old one for just under $2 million. Peek insde the Beverly Grove Spanish inpsired property that just found a new owner. Built in 1929, the four bedroom, three bathroom home stretches over 2,674 square feet and retains some of its original charm. The vintage vibes are brought by those lovely timber ceiling beams, arched doorways, multiple fireplaces, built-in niches, and wrought iron details.

As someone who loves to trawl through celebrity real estate listings, you can trust me when I say the other half is living lavishly. It’s downright rare to find a price tag with fewer than seven figures. But truly, I can’t blame ’em. If I started making major bank, the first thing I’d do is set myself up with the home of my dreams too. But it seems lavish real estate isn’t a top priority for every celeb under the sun.

Mortgage marketplace Lending Tree recently ranked its best cities for first-time homebuyers, and the results are, well… let’s just say it’s great news if you’d like to live in Little Rock, Ark., which Lending Tree found to be the most hospitable U.S. city to first-time home buyers. Birmingham, Ala., Grand Rapids, Mich., Youngstown, Ohio, and Winston, N.C. rounded out the top five.

If there’s one thing better than a tiny house, it’s a tiny treehouse. Luckily for you, we’ve found a particularly charming example that even comes with six picturesque acres in the Smoky Mountains for $239,900. Once part of the Butterfly Gap retreat, this 600 square foot one bedroom one bath treehouse is located in Maryville, Tennessee, a mere 30 minutes outside of Knoxville.

When it comes to incredibly expensive and extremely luxe Los Angeles real estate, a pool is pretty standard. At this point, two pools are pretty standard. But this $28 million dollar spec house has raised the aquatic stakes with its in-living room pool— aka a human aquarium. The infinity pool is glass on three sides, so that people can look into the pool (and out into the LA skyline) from the living room or movie theater.

Your typical ranch home is no longer the most popular style of architecture in America, thanks again (groan, boo, hiss, yawn) to the changing tastes of millennials — the majority of whom have now entered their prime settle-down-and-start-a-family (or just build equity) years.

Late night fixture Jimmy Kimmel will be coming into our homes tonight as the host of the 90th Academy Awards. So it’s only fair that we get to go into his. Let’s take a look at Jimmy’s style throughout the years, courtesy of real estate listings and a little help from two very big pop stars. Jimmy bought this house in the Hollywood Hills in 2002 for $925,000 and completely remodeled it, adding the gourmet kitchen and that bar with a view.

A little bit Wes Anderson, a little bit California Boho and a little bit traveling fortune teller, this caravan is wholly unique. Musician/photographer/designer Steve Areen built the Unity Wagon by hand and by using almost all recycled materials. Two of Steve’s friends own a farm outside of Melbourne and invited him to hang out as their “artist in residence.

A luxurious Santa Monica vacation home that once belonged to Hollywood royalty is up for sale for the first time in 40 years. Built in 1929, the home was previously owned by Cary Grant and Western star Randolph Scott. Over the years, the spiffy digs were frequented by stars like Grace Kelly, Howard Hughes, Sharon Tate and George Gershwin. Buyers tempted to follow in those fancy footsteps can do so for $11.995 million.

Sometimes you see a New York apartment so dreamy, so swoon-worthy it deserves to be the impossibly perfect apartment of the protagonist in a romantic comedy. This is one such apartment, so I took the liberty of writing a treatment of one such rom-com. NOHO-MANHATTAN. INTERIOR-EVENING. Rain patters on the expansive skylight in the solarium, creating a cozy atmosphere. The protagonist, LADY WITH GLASSES, is on the ladder of her massive floor to ceiling bookshelf.

Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are great, but, to us, the real star of Sleepless in Seattle was Sam and Jonah’s dreamy floating house. This two-bedroom Shingle Style Seattle houseboat, chock full of character, may be the next best thing. 2019 Fairview Ave E Unit N Located in Seattle, Washington $850,000 830 square feet 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom Seattle is famous for its charming collection of floating houses, but what are they like on the inside?

If you have any extra space in your home — a spare bedroom, guest house, a finished garage — chances are you’ve toyed with the idea of listing it on Airbnb. Pros: extra money for bills or savings, a fun way to meet cool people, and not a lot of real work. Cons: the potential for weirdos in your space, property damage, and near-constant mental labor in the form of requests and bookings.

Dr. Bill Thomas has spent the majority of his career trying to improve nursing homes, but now hopes to make it so that people no longer need them, period — by offering scaled-down residences that actually fit the needs of aging seniors. Just, whatever you do, don’t call them tiny homes. The physician turned building developer is the creator of Minka, a prototype 330-square-foot kit home designed and tested for aging seniors.

Tiny houses can truly run the gamut of style. From prefab basic to completely eclectic to sharp and modern, these homes aren’t letting a lack of square footage put a damper on their style. This tiny home, Honey on the Rock, took the lack of space and a request to use a family heirloom and made a home that is next level beautiful. The team at Carpenter Owl, a Bloomington, Indiana based firm, built the home around a request to incorporate a family’s heirloom whiskey still.

L.A. real estate prices are known for their general insanity, so the odds of finding a great property at an incredible value are about the same as the odds of hitting the lottery. That’s what makes this two-bedroom, two-bathroom restored bungalow with a bonus studio space such a winner.

Some people are just old house people. Never content to live in a cookie cutter new build, creaky floors and dated wallpaper are selling points. If period details and the promise of a lot of elbow grease are for you, then this Instagram account is your new (old) favorite thing. Cheap Old Houses is an Instagram account created by the team at Circa, a magazine, community, and listing platform for people who love historic homes.

With urban real estate by the foot at an ever-increasing premium, building or renovating “gap houses” — super-slim buildings designed to fit into the narrow egress between two more historic structures — are a growing trend around the globe, like this $1.4 million townhouse in London that’s only 91 inches wide.

By analyzing every single dog registration in New York City between 2012 and 2016, a new report by the New York Times claims that in order to understand urban real estate trends these days — which neighborhoods are poppin’ versus which may have begun to bottom out — all we need to do is “follow Fido.

If you’ve been keeping an eye on the real estate market recently, you’ve probably heard a few rumours about rising interest rates flying around. We’re sad to say that what you’ve been hearing is true — but that doesn’t mean you should give up hope on your dreams of becoming a homeowner. Keep reading to learn more about what’s happening with interest rates today — and what you can do to stay competitive.

For the first time, Airbnb hosts can now count their home-sharing earnings as additional income when refinancing their mortgage at three national lenders: Citizens Bank, Better Mortgage, and Quicken Loans (the company behind that Rocket Mortgage app you see each Super Bowl). That may sound trivial, but like Ron Burgundy, it’s kind of a big deal. Refinancing a mortgage isn’t exactly easy; it’s almost as tedious as taking one out in the first place.

Every once in a while you stumble across a real estate listing so unique, so exquisite that it must be shared. This beaut is located in Sturgis, Michigan and it is a sprawling gem of late ’70s opulence, perfectly crystallized in amber. What makes this property feel like such a find is that so many of its vintage elements are making a comeback. Crystals! Velvet! Animal patterns!

The thing about turn-of-the-century, pre-war apartments? Along with their vintage architectural details, they have turn-of-the-century, pre-war floor plans, finishes and decay. So instead, for those whose idea of charm includes fresh materials and modern conveniences, this new Brooklyn building could be for you.

At the beginning of the year, Zillow compiled a list of US cities with the worst housing shortage crises, which predictably included the Los Angeles area. Like other large metropolitan centers, the city has struggled to accommodate its population, despite building homes at a faster pace. Fortunately, designers are developing innovative solutions to the widespread problem like Plús Hús, a tiny home from Santa Monica, California-based design studio Minarc.

You’ve been setting aside money for a down payment for a few years and you’ve met your goal. Your online browsing has turned to semi-regular weekend open house hunting, and now you’re thinking about getting an agent of your own. Is it time? Are you really ready to buy a house? One of the biggest daily life differences between renting and owning is that no one is responsible for maintaining a home except for the home owners.

Gather round, friends, and let me tell you a tale of the magical, mystical, under $1,000 apartment. You’d think such a unicorn wouldn’t exist on the isle of Manhattan, but lo! thar she gallops, across Central Park to the Upper West Side. But alas, not everything is as wonderful as it seems, and there’s a catch to this sweet deal.

I won’t claim to know just how much overlap there is in the Venn diagram of hardcore Patti Smith fans and people on the hunt for impressive Brooklyn real estate, but if that sounds like you — welcome to your dream apartment! The Brooklyn home Smith shared with partner Robert Mapplethorpe is available to rent. Smith and Mapplethorpe moved into the Clinton Hill townhouse in 1967 and paid $80 a month (about $600 today) for the apartment.

Want to have a one-bedroom apartment all to yourself? Living alone invariably costs more than splitting the rent and utilities. But the price of escaping a roommate’s obnoxious habits or stray toenail clippings is a lot lower in some places than others — like Bloomington, Ind., for example. Most single Americans prefer to live alone, if they can afford to.

The latest of several ancient, historic (even prehistoric) places in Europe to offer insanely cheap real estate schemes in order to revive their aging populations, the mayor of one village on the Italian island of Sardinia is offering homes for sale for just one euro — with just one more week left to apply.

Just like his beloved character in Die Hard, and though he might work in both NYC and LA, actor Bruce Willis says he will “always be an Upper West Side guy” — even if he did just sell his most recent Central Park West home. Just one week after listing his prewar coop at 271 Central Park West for $17.

If you missed out on the recent sale of Grey Gardens, the famous Hamptons estate of Big Edie and Little Edie Beale, you’re in luck. The carriage house is on the market for the first time in 56 years. The five bedroom, four bathroom house sits on 1.1 acres near Georgica Beach and was built in 1896.

The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has surged past 4.28% this week to its highest point in years, according to CNBC. That’s bad news for home buyers, because even a small rate increase can be enough to push an already difficult-to-afford house completely out of reach. After starting the year around 4.0%, average rates have been steadily creeping higher, with some lenders quoting best rates of 4.5% this week.

Anna Faris is selling her mid-century modern oasis in the Hollywood Hills, which she once shared with soon-to-be ex-husband Chris Pratt and their son Jack. According to Architectural Digest, Faris purchased the 2,500 square foot 3/3 bungalow on a lush (nearly an acre) lot in Nichols Canyon back in 2005 for $1.995 million, while married to first husband Ben Indra. The actress and author recently listed the property for $2.5 million — it was once previously listed in 2013 for $2.3 million.

Do you like it Uptown? It is quiet uptown and now that Lin-Manuel Miranda’s family home is on the market, you could make your home in Inwood. Look around, look around at all of the features available in this spacious three bedroom, two bathroom co-op. If domestic life was never quite your style, maybe this home will change your mind.

There’s nothing funny about Chris Rock’s historic carriage house in Clinton Hill, with its stately period details and swoon-worthy stained glass. And after a few years of renting it out (some say for as high as $15,000 per month since 2013), Rock has finally sold the property he purchased as a newly famous standup comic.