Real Estate

There are a lot of factors that go into making a big move, and for many people, the top priority is either their job or their family. But if you’re on your own and you have job flexibility to go basically wherever you want (i.e. you work remotely), then what? In that case, you have the luxury of finding a place that suits you—and not necessarily just your career. To help you figure out the best U.S. city for you and your priorities, HighSpeedInternet.

In 2008, the U.S. housing market was already cratering as the Great Recession took hold. To try and stop the bleeding, Congress passed a series of first-time homebuyer tax credits, each more generous than the last. First came a $7,500 tax rebate, to be repaid over 15 years with no interest. By early 2009, it had grown to $8,000, and required no payback whatsoever. And for most of 2010, even some repeat home buyers were eligible for a tax credit worth up to $6,500.

Picture it: the house you’re looking at comes with three bedrooms, two baths, and a couple of ghosts. Is that a deal breaker? For some, not necessarily, according to a new survey released today by Realtor.com. The company surveyed more than 1,000 online respondents and found that a third of them are open to living in a haunted house, with 25 percent in the maybe camp, and the remaining 42 percent saying definitely not.

It’s not surprising to learn that there are a lot of people who want to leave their expensive cities for a lower cost of living. But what is a little surprising? The concentration of people who want to move out of the Big Apple—a whopping 83.2 percent of renters in New York City want to settle elsewhere, according to a Apartment List’s annual survey.

Ever since Chip & Joanna popularized the term “barndominium” on Fixer Upper last year, it seems like modern farmhouse barn conversions are becoming a dime a dozen. Not so for this contemporary update of an 1870s dairy farm just an hour outside of Boston.

If you’ve been living in a major city the past few years, you’ve probably seen your rent go up — and up, and up — and thought about buying a home to escape the rent hikes. Problem is, you’ve likely watched helplessly as the prices of nearby condos and houses climbed out of your reach even faster. If you’re feeling priced out in the city you call home, should you consider moving to make your dream of homeownership come true?

Heeeeere’s Johnny’s house: an four acre Malibu estate once owned by late night king Johnny Carson is on the market for a whopping $81.5 million. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the current owners, producer Sidney Kimmel and his wife Caroline, bought the property from Carson’s estate in 2007 for about $46 million (Carson died in 2005).

Who knew that by following the Yelp reviews for the best places to find avocado toast — versus just mocking it as the reason young people today just can’t [insert complaint here] — we could actually be speculating the next hot real estate market? Probably anyone with any experience in real estate speculation, but now we have proof, thanks to a new study. In this week’s Hot or Not of city rankings, Realtor.

Size isn’t everything. This small East Village one-bedroom makes it easy to overlook the square footage and focus instead on all the bewitching details like the marble fireplace, wide plank wood floors and skylight windows. We haven’t even gotten to the private terrace on the roof yet which the realtor suggests could be described by Ralph Waldo Emerson as “A secret nook in a pleasant land.” 111 East 10th St.

Whether you know them better from Full House or their fashion labels, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have been trendsetters since childhood. The twin sisters have shared a lot over the years, including a TV role, a media empire, and even this West Village penthouse. According to Curbed, the Olsens bought the property, located at One Morton Square, when the building was under construction in 2009 for $7.2 million and then sold it shortly after in 2010 for $7.

The world has lost a rock icon. Heartbreakers frontman Tom Petty died on Monday after suffering a full cardiac arrest. He was 66. Here’s a tribute to the legend, as told through some of the places he’s lived. Born in 1950 in Gainesville, Florida, Petty had a rough childhood, but a handshake from Elvis at age 17 sparked an interest in rock music.

Unless you have a fairy godmother or a cool half million sitting around, you’re probably going to need a mortgage if you want to buy a home. Here’s how to qualify for and choose a mortgage, and what to expect throughout the process. Let’s face it: You can go to as many open houses as you want, but you’re not going to be able to buy one without a mortgage. So get the ball rolling early and get pre-approved before you even start house hunting.

Will Ferrell portrayed fictional NASCAR star Ricky Bobby in the 2006 comedy Talladega Nights. This sprawling mansion—where he lived with his wife and two sons, Walker and Texas Ranger—happens to be on the market for $4.2 million. The film was actually shot in the house and not on a soundstage, so it’s definitely recognizable. The property is located in a gated community on 1.

Harptree Court in Somerset, England has a lot of history. It dates back to 1797, has over 50 acres of grounds and gardens, has been owned by the same family for the last 100 years, and oh, it was also the filming location for The Great British Bake Off. Located outside of Bristol in the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Grade II Listed Georgian house is said to have been built by Charles Harcourt Masters of Bath in the late 18th century, with a 19th century addition.

You know want to buy a home — you’re just not sure where to begin. And no wonder: Buying your first home can be a long, intimidating process, full of gross stuff like math, legal documents, and cutthroat competition. But have no fear: First-time buyers just like you do it all the time, and we’ll walk you through the process. First, you’ve got to make sure you’re emotionally and financially ready to buy a home.

The Deuce star James Franco is getting rid of his duo of Silver Lake apartments. The properties were just listed this week for $949,000. Variety was the first to report the listing today, also mentioning that the 127 Hours star bought the place back in 2012 for $775,000. Though it seems it’s been used to house a production company, at least according to a neighbor complaint reported on Curbed. They’re probably excited to see that for sale sign go up.

If you’ve had enough of your roommate eating your leftover take-out, your absentee landlord hiking the rent year after year even though the heat barely works, or your mom asking what time you — a full-grown adult the last time you checked — will be home, you might be dreaming about buying your own place, and doing it sooner rather than later. But how do you know if you’re ready to buy a home, and whether it’s a good idea? There are various rent vs.

Ok, so maybe millennials aren’t settling in cities en masse like we thought they were. However, they’re still changing the housing market in small but important ways. We know today’s young adults are getting married much later in life than past generations, for instance, and they’re buying homes later, too.

Do you entertain fantasies of castle living, but aren’t exactly ready for the sort of upkeep that comes with a centuries old stone building steeped in history? Well, we have some good news: this castle in Scotland has been converted into townhomes, and there are two currently on the market—one for rent, and one for sale.

Laissez les bon temps of the rich and famous in this nearly $5 million Victorian mansion that just hit the market in Mardi Gras country, once owned by the infamous Mother of Vampire Fiction Anne Rice. The 8,747-square-foot estate just off the street car line down St.

Real estate daydreaming is one of the most enjoyable pastimes: you can envision all the lives you’d lead, all the outfits you’d wear, and all the updates and improvements you’d make without being confined by budget, building codes, or reality. Here are a dozen homes currently on the market for under $200,000, all of them fixer-uppers of varying degrees, all of them featuring ridiculously beautiful, ornate, and irreplaceable original woodwork.

Seems like Bey and Jay are crazy in love with a new house. The mega stars closed on a property last month in Bel Air, but they’ve got their East coast pad on lock now, too. The music moguls also spent $25.925 million in July for this sprawling East Hampton manse, as spotted on 6sqft. Dubbed Pond House, the 12,000 square foot home is located on over two acres by Georgica Pond and next to a 17 acre meadow preserve (read: tons of privacy).

Open houses are kind of fun, aren’t they? There’s something interesting about walking through a home and trying to picture yourself living there. However, when you’re serious about getting into the real estate market, it’s time to take this experience to the next level. Here are our tips for buyers on getting the most out of open houses. Keep these in mind the next time you’re in the mood to take a tour and you’ll be an open house pro before you know it.

Today in things that really exist that you can buy, allow us to present this 1973 GMC motor home. It’s like your average motor home in a lot of ways, except that this one comes with some inspirational art, in the form of Mr. T riding a unicorn. For those who missed out on the ’80s, Mr. T is an American actor and retired wrestler who most notably starred as B.A. Baracus on the hit show The A-Team, and opposite Sly Stallone as boxer Clubber Lang in 1982’s Rocky III.

Love ’em or hate ’em, it appears American suburbs are here to stay. But they might look very different 50 or even ten years from now. That’s according to Alan M. Berger, professor of landscape architecture and urban design at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who explained his vision for more sustainable suburban development in the New York Times this past weekend.

When you’re an original supermodel married to one of the top hospitality entrepreneurs in the country, and you own a tequila brand that just sold for $1 billion, of course you’re going to need an LA party pad to match your lifestyle. Cindy Crawford and husband Rande Gerber have just purchased OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder’s rock n’ roll crib northwest of Sunset Boulevard for a cool $11.625 million.

North of New York City, hidden in the tony bedroom communities of Westchester County, sits this perfectly preserved portal to upper class Victorian life on the Hudson River — and now you can rent it for a mere $10,000 a week. If Martha’s Vineyard’s famed rosy-hued Victorian campground cottage is known as The Wooden Valentine, then this Hudson River home must be the 19th century version of a Jumbotron proposal.

In a move that’s the inspired marriage of Kickstarter and ’80s childhood favorite World Wildlife Foundation Adopt-an-Endangered-Species campaigns, Adopte un Château wants to crowdsource heritage home preservation in an effort to save and restore France’s more than 30,000 aging castlelike properties — some dating back to the Middle Ages, many of them currently abandoned or in complete ruin.

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air has a royally huge crush on Hawaii real estate — or at least he did. Will Smith and his “Girls Trip” star wife Jada Pinkett Smith have just sold their 6.91 acre property on the Hawaiian island of Kauai (the couple previously unloaded another Kauai estate in 2011). The Hollywood power couple said goodbye to the compound which sits atop a bluff overlooking Secret Beach on the island’s North Shore.

For most of us, buying a first home is a pretty big deal. We’re all indoctrinated from a young age with the more romantic aspects of becoming homeowners, making it hard to imagine when we purchase that first abode that we’ll ever live anywhere else. But think of it this way: Wouldn’t it be nice to know that when it does come time to sell your beloved first home, you’ll be walking away with a nice chunk of change to put toward your next dream house?

As Blair Waldorf said in Gossip Girl, “We make our own fairytales.” And this diminutive Glaswegian castle is an affordable dream come true for the right prince, princess…or pauper on the rise.

If you’ve ever contemplated living that horse whisperer life, perhaps you’d like a farm with an A list pedigree. Johnny Depp owns a 41 acre farm in Kentucky, and he’s auctioning the property next week.

Madonna is on the move. The pop icon revealed over the weekend that she recently relocated her family to Portugal. And the new digs are reportedly a palatial 19th century Moorish revival, 30 minutes outside of Lisbon. The Queen of Pop is living up to her honorific: Variety sited local sources that say Madge has bought the historic Quinta do Relógio in the village of Sintra, Portugal.

While a six-figure salary might offer more than enough income to most households, believe it or not, there are still cities in the U.S. where $100K-a-year won’t get you far. For a recent report, “The Best and Worst Cities to Live On Six Figures,” Magnify Money analyzed 381 major cities across the country to see which ones offered the least financial wiggle room for two-earner households (with two adults and one child) with a gross annual income of $100K.

The opportunity to add a “protected historic structure” to your renovation resume has arrived in the form of Chesterhill House, a 5,300-square-foot Tudor Italianate located in Scotland’s countryside. According to Curbed, the unoccupied country home is entertaining offers over £200,000, or around $259,000. With an estimated construction date around 1870, the six-bedroom, five bath-home features a west wing addition that dates between 1893 and 1912.

Despite having just renovated the place, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski are selling off their Park Slope townhouse that they bought in 2016—for a cool $8 million. The Wall Street Journal reported today that the couple is selling the Park Slope pad because they’re constantly traveling for work. “We’ve been nomads for a while now, but that’s the nature of the business,” Krasinski told WSJ.

The dream of the ’90s actually isn’t in Portland, but in Michigan, where this untouched mansion has not been updated since it was built in 1996. It might be relatively unassuming from the outside, but inside it is basically a pink and turquoise fever dream. Oh, 1996—the year that gave us Tamagotchis, Rosie O’Donnell’s talk show, the Spice Girls, Space Jam, and the dance song to end all dance songs, the Macarena.

If you haven’t spent much time in Kansas City, you might not realize that it’s a city with a vibrant culture, tons of great food (barbecue, of course, but it goes beyond that, too) and friendly, creative people—but that’s exactly what it is. It’s an up-and-coming city with a lot to offer, so we asked KCMO residents to share what they love about their city, along with their recommendations for visitors and transplants.

This Bel Air manse has a boatload of charm, and we’re not telling Big Little Lies. The former home of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe is back on the market for $15.999 million. The celebrity couple split in 2007, but sold this fairytale estate back in 2004 for $4.5 million, according to property records and noted by The Real Deal. Built in 1969, the home was designed by architect Gerard R.

How often do you browse popular websites for apartment listings? As it turns out, they might not be giving you all the facts—at least not according to a new report from Apartment List. It’s what they’re calling a “luxury bias.

Actress Kate Walsh just unloaded her Encino home to a fellow celebrity. Variety reports that David Arquette bought the property from the 13 Reasons Why star for over the asking price. Walsh listed the one acre estate back in July for $4.25 million, having purchased the property in 2013 for $2.725 million. It was also on the rental market earlier this year for upwards of $17,500 per month.

If you’re hoping to buy a property in a competitive market, then you probably know that a bidding war with another hopeful buyer may be in the cards. But you don’t have to be a real estate tycoon to know how to negotiate; the key to surviving a bidding war is to be prepared. Here’s what you need to know before you head into battle: Cash is a universal language that everyone understands.

When you think of what makes a quintessential New York City apartment—one with a lot of character and charm—you probably picture a pre-war apartment (even if you don’t realize it). Built between the 1880s and 1939 in both Manhattan—the highest concentration is in the Upper West Side, though you can find them pretty much all throughout the borough—and some areas of Brooklyn, pre-war buildings were made with a lot of personality.

Disney star turned pop singer Miley Cyrus is heading back to her country roots. The daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus bought a farmhouse style manse in Franklin, Tennessee, the city where she was born. Cyrus purchased the property for $5.8 million in late July, according to the Nashville Post. The nearly 7,000 square foot house has five bedrooms and four full and two half bathrooms.

You’re uninvited to Alanis Morissette’s house; the rocker is selling the property in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles that’s she’s called home since 1996. You oughta know how it looks inside. Brentwood has a history of being a celeb favorite; names like Marilyn Monroe and Lea Michele have called the neighborhood home. The Ironic singer unironically bought the place for $1.795 million in the ’90s, according to public records.

The whole point of having a job is to be able to afford housing, food and the necessities so you can keep on keeping on, right? So it would make sense for salaries to rise with housing costs, but that’s not always the case. In many areas, rent prices move on up without giving wages a chance to catch up, and it especially varies when you factor in the industries people work in.

If you’re looking into buying a home, your mind is probably focused on things like your down payment and monthly mortgage costs, but those aren’t the only costs that come with owning a home—there are hidden costs you might not be thinking about, too.

Given the ever-increasing popularity of shows like Treehouse Masters, and Instagram accounts dedicated to all things Cabin Love and Rustic Houses, this aerial abode is a dreamy aesthetic treat.

There’s real estate speculation and opportunism, and then there’s this dramatic tale from one of San Francisco’s most expensive neighborhoods, where a couple of investors swooped in and bought the rights to an entire private street — right out from under the nose of the HOA board and residents, in what someone might call an attempt at “reverse gentrification.

Actor Edward Norton just purchased an $11.8 million home in Malibu Colony. The beachfront strip of prime Malibu real estate has for decades been a fave among the Hollywood set. Prior to the ‘Fight Club’ actor snapping up this architectural wonder, the home had been listed on and off the market for four years, priced as high as $22 million. The Stevens’ Home, as the residence is called, has five bedrooms and five bathrooms situated over 3,366 square feet.

The wrong real estate agent—or just one who doesn’t jibe with your vibe—can cast a shadow on your whole home buying experience. That’s why it pays to know what things to look for (and the right kinds of questions to ask) when searching for a reliable real estate agent. So to help make your search a little easier, we called on William E Brown, President of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), for advice on how to find the best agent for your unique homebuying needs.

A piece of prime architectural history is up for sale, and a private island comes with it. Situated on the 11 acre, heart-shaped Petra Island in New York’s Putnam County, luxury real estate concierge Chilton & Chadwick have put the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed property on the market with a $14.92 million price tag.

We all have deal breakers in just about every facet of our lives—from dating to jobs, and of course, to our homes, there are some things we just can’t deal with. And those deal breakers are different for everyone—for one person, a roommate leaving dishes in the sink overnight could feel like the end of the world, while for another person, cleanliness (or lack thereof) is a non-issue compared to whether or not they get along with their roommate on a personal level.

Do you have what it takes to buy a fixer-upper…lighthouse? The federal government seems to be having a fire sale on seaworthy structures, and six intrepid bargain-hunters can scoop them up this summer for a (fisherman’s) song — with auction prices starting at just $10,000. (No, this is not a whale’s tale.

Are you a New Yorker who has found yourself chatting with someone from a smaller city, only to discover that their rent is about what you spent on Seamless last month? Okay, an exaggeration (we hope) but it’s safe to say that the contrast between living expenses in New York and those in smaller “secondary” cities can be significant. Recently, Mercer’s Cost of Living survey determined that New York continues to be the most costly US city to live in.

Before you hop onto the roof of your car on the 405 and bust out some dance moves, we have some devastating news: Life in Los Angeles isn’t like a scene out of La-La Land. But that certainly doesn’t mean that the City of Angels is without merits. With almost four million residents, Los Angeles is a diverse metropolis that attracts people from every corner of the world in search of success, be it professional or personal.

Full of art, natural light, and eclectic accessories, maximalists will appreciate these two new multimillion dollar listings. Let’s take a look at two colorfully creative Manhattan spaces that are just a little bit off-beat. Starting in Chelsea, this $2.2M apartment owned by eBay executive Bradford Shellhammer (formerly founder of Fab.

You probably already know Philadelphia is a city rich with history and things to do, but unless you’ve experienced it first-hand, you might not know just how great Philly is—it’s more than just cheesesteaks and Rocky movies, it’s a big city with a tight-knit community feel that’s chock full of culture. Ask any local what they love about their city, and they’re sure to tell you the same (and more).

Timeout: Mark-Paul Gosselaar, star of the beloved 90s show Saved By The Bell, is renting out his Sherman Oaks, California home. Gosselaar, whose career took a turn for the dramatic with series regular status on NYPD Blue and TNT lawyer drama Franklin & Bash, has listed the five bedroom, five bathroom home for $13,500 per month. The 5,266 square foot “custom French country” home sits on a .44 acre lot and was built in 2005.

Online mortgage programs are becoming increasingly popular — and it’s not hard to see why. With an application process that takes less than five minutes, they can almost be thought of as an “express lane” for a loan. But while some prospective buyers, particularly those who have been through the process before, may appreciate their speed and ease, those same features can feel overwhelming to first-time buyers.

In the complete opposite direction of budget living, renowned architect Andrea Palladio’s Villa Cornaro is officially on the market. Designated as “one of the most influential buildings in the world” by the New York Times, the sprawling Italian home is the stuff of real estate dreams. In 1551, the villa was designed and ultimately named for Giorgio Cornaro, a member of Italian society’s upper echelon.

If you’re thinking of buying a home, you’ve likely given a lot of thought to what style suits you best. Are you drawn to the sleek lines of modern architecture? Or are you a sucker for Craftsman style? If your answer happens to be the modern American ranch, well, you’re certainly not alone—according to a 2016 Trulia study, it’s the most popular pick in 34 states in the U.S.

Houseboats definitely float our boat around here. This one in Boston packs a ton of amenities into a tiny space, and it costs less than $50,000. This 1986 Chris Craft Catalina 362 power boat is just 360 square feet, but manages to squeeze in two bedrooms and two full baths!

You can read a million lists about buying a home—and I could prattle on for days about the process myself—but the best advice anyone can probably offer is this: buy a home in a city that you love even more than the house itself. Never does this ring more true than when it comes to outdoorsy people.

You’ve heard it before: “No house is going to be perfect. Even your dream home will have a few compromises.” That’s true. When you’re house hunting, it’s important to keep an open mind rather than getting stuck in one vision of what you’re perfect home will look like. However, there are a few instances where it’s okay to put your foot down.

While Cersei Lannister keeps her eyes on the Iron Throne, Lena Headey is on the move. The British actor is selling her Sherman Oaks home for $1.945 million (we’re not sure how much that is in Gold Dragons). Headey purchased the property in 2014 for $790,000 and has made some extensive updates in the past three years.

Wondering where New York’s A-list lives? This townhouse in Chelsea has had quite the celebrity past, and now it’s back on the market—this time for $18.75 million. 6sqft reported Monday that the Greek Revival townhouse is back on the market, with a million dollar price drop (it was listed for $19.75 million back in January).

The saying “hindsight is 20/20” can apply to most major decisions in life—you often don’t know how you could’ve done something better until it’s already been done. And in the case of selling your home, it definitely rings true. So what is it that home sellers wish they could’ve done differently, knowing what they know now? A recent Zillow report asked home sellers (both first-time and repeat sellers) to share their biggest regrets about the process.

Sometimes, against all odds, against all logic, we still hope…that someday we’ll own our own private island and leave the worries of the world behind. For one lucky owner with deep pockets and a penchant for privacy, that day is now: the entirety of Hope Island, just off the coast of Portland, Maine, is currently on the market for a cool $7.95 million.

The former home of everyone’s favorite Queen of the Twitter clapback, cookbook author slash model Chrissy Teigen and near-EGOT-winner husband John Legend is back on the market — just three years after the current owners bought the property from the famous couple. Set at the end of a cul-de-sac in the Hollywood Hills, it’s an oasis from LA that Legend himself said reminds him of a “Thai temple.

Fans of mid-century architecture and design are drawn to Palm Springs, California like moths to the flame, but few can afford to actually live there. That all may be about to change, though, thanks to one enterprising “vintage mobile home park” in south Palm Springs that recently embraced the Tiny Home Movement.

The sharing economy promises the freedom to earn extra money on your own time and terms. Just how much money varies, but one platform makes its users far more cash than any other. San Francisco-based loan provider Earnest analyzed income on tens of thousands of loan applications to measure the impact of sharing economy work. They found that the average Uber driver makes $364 a month, while the average Lyft driver pulls in $377.