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Where are all the homes, anyway? Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic ignited a nationwide housing boom, wannabe buyers have been plagued by bone-dry home inventory levels in many markets—causing them to either wait on the sidelines for more choices or slug it out in frantic bidding wars for the scraps of the market.

Now, as we head into the crucial spring real estate season, buyers are still finding no shortage of challenges: Home prices are historically high, mortgage interest rates are rising, and folks are once again swamping open houses, spilling out onto sidewalks.

But there is a silver lining: In many markets, there are a lot more homes to choose from. And the data team at Realtor.com® found the metropolitan areas where the overall home listings are up the most.

Let’s be clear: The nation is still suffering from a severe housing shortage. But compared with one year ago, there are about 250,000 more homes for sale. Housing inventory has been on the upswing since the middle of 2022, with the number of active listings on Realtor.com hitting 626,000 in January 2023.

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Home improvement loans sound pretty sweet: Imagine, someone actually gives you money to fix up your house! And these loans are actually plentiful if you know where to look. Here are some options to explore, and how to tell whether they’re right for you.

FHA 203(k) loan

The FHA 203(k) loan is a loan from the Federal Housing Administration—so that means you can put as little as 3.5% down! Homeowners can use the money to redo a kitchen or bathroom, finish a basement or attic, change out the floors, buy appliances, or add a room.

The loan can even be used to rebuild a tear-down as long as the original foundation remains, explains Suzanne Caldeira, a finance expert at Shamrock Financial Corp. The only no-nos are upgrades that are deemed “luxury” items, like adding a pool or fire pit.

How it works: To qualify for a 203(k) loan, homeowners have to provide a bid from an approved contractor to make the upgrades they want with their loan paperwork. An appraiser reviews the home and the submitted bid, and appraises the estimated value of the home postrenovation. That appraisal must be in line with local comps—if it’s not, you could be required to scale back the reno you’re proposing.

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With all the over-the-top casinos and resorts in Las Vegas, it seems possible that some of the city’s private residences might embody a similar vibe, right?

This 9,771-square-foot, designer mansion sure does! You won’t find anything else like it, except maybe at The Venetian on the glittering Strip.

Listed for $6.5 million, this luxe manse certainly takes some fanciful cues from Sin City.

Most notably, the home includes a special corridor, designed to look like a street in a quaint Italian village. The unique feature helped crown this property the most popular home on Realtor.com® last week.

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When people hear that the United States Department of Agriculture offers home homes, many might presume they’d have to buy a farm out in the country to qualify. But it’s just not true.

In fact, according to the Housing Assistance Council, 97% of U.S. land is within USDA-loan-eligible boundaries, where about one-third of all Americans live.

“Even though they are rural loans, USDA loans are not just for farmers,” says Jill Gonzalez, an analyst for WalletHub. “They are meant to promote homeownership in areas that have lower populations. In some cases, suburbs could also be included in this category.”

But how do you know if a home you’re looking at is in the USDA loan zone?

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From 1885 until the early 2000s, a Lutheran church in rural Home, KS, was the backdrop for worship services, weddings, and other gatherings.

Then it closed and found new life as a business.

And in 2020, the former church became a home.

“I thought I was going to be staying here forever; that was my plan,” says listing agent and owner Jessica Leis, with Midwest Land and Home. “I love living here.”

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The Idaho house where four college students were found stabbed to death in their beds will be demolished this spring.

The owners of the six-bedroom, three-bathroom house on the Idaho-Washington border offered to give the off-campus rental to the University of Idaho, and school officials accepted.

Students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were murdered on the second and third floors of the Moscow rental in the early hours of Nov. 13. The school plans to raze the home by the end of the spring semester.

“This is a healing step and removes the physical structure where the crime that shook our community was committed,” University of Idaho President Scott Green wrote in an email to students last week. “Demolition also removes efforts to further sensationalize the crime scene.”

HGTV

On “Home Town,” Erin and Ben Napier tend to follow tried-and-true design rules when remodeling a house—but in the latest episode, they prove that any rule can be broken for the right occasion.

In the Season 7 episode “Blue Heaven,” the Napiers meet Michael and his adult son, Maclain, who have moved from Florida to Laurel, MS. He’s bought a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house listed at $157,000 and has $100,000 for renovations.

His house is a cozy Craftsman in a charming Southern town. Nonetheless, Michael is insisting that the makeover veer in a totally different direction, giving the space a breezy, coastal aesthetic.

HGTV

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The numbers: U.S. pending home sales rose 8.1% in January, according to the monthly index released Monday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), with sales rising for the second month in a row.

Pending home sales last rose by this much in June 2020, fueled by pandemic buying.

Pending home sales beat analyst expectations. Analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast the pending home sales index to rise by 0.9%.

Contract signings rose in all four regions on a monthly basis.

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And the beat goes on.

Longtime drummer Anton Fig, who played in Paul Shaffer‘s house band for the “Late Show With David Letterman,” is ready to make a move.

The musician recently listed his posh, loft-like apartment on Manhattan’s West Side for $2,995,000. He paid $2,404,000 for it in 2015.

Perched beside the Hudson River and just steps from Riverside Park, the three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,700-square-foot prewar dwelling sports spectacular views from its large windows.

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Before potential buyers even set foot in your home, they’ve likely already scoped it out online. Well-staged listing photos are a must for generating interest and bringing buyers around. Then, once buyers see it in person, a pristine home can help increase the amount buyers are willing to offer.

But what some sellers don’t realize is that home staging isn’t just for interiors. It’s imperative to stage the outdoor areas, too.

“A well-staged outdoor area can increase the perceived value of the home and set it apart from the competition,” says Eric Tamminga of Iron Embers, a fire pit and outdoor furniture manufacturing company based in Ontario.

To help better stage your porch, patio, deck, or backyard—and increase your curb appeal—be sure to avoid these missteps.

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When Jenna Watts moved to Savannah, GA, where her husband, Gil, was born and raised, she expected the couple would be renters for a year or two at the most. The couple began house hunting in October 2020, hoping to put down roots as they started a family.

Three and a half years later, they have seen over 50 homes and made offers on several. Each time, the couple lost to an all-cash buyer, often someone from the Northeast or the West Coast who recently sold a home and were looking to downsize Down South.

Jenna, 30, and Gil, 31, have a good budget for a home, but they can’t pay all cash. The months and months of disappointments have taken a toll.

“When I see new listings, I don’t get excited anymore,” Jenna says. “I feel burned out. Sometimes I feel numb to the whole process because it’s been so repetitive, and it just feels like things are stagnant and there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.”

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Donald Trump has been accused of overstating the value of the marquee Trump Tower, on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, according to a recent article in Forbes.

The Trump Organization is embroiled in a $250 million civil lawsuit alleging fraud filed by the New York attorney general in September. Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, alleged the organization inflated the value of the former president’s real estate empire by billions of dollars to receive loans and insurance with favorable terms and for tax benefits. The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, is also investigating the tower.

Since Trump Tower opened its golden entrance in 1983, Trump hasn’t been truthful about the building’s financial performance, according to records viewed by Forbes.

For example, Trump told Forbes that 85% of the residential units were sold before the building opened for between $500,000 and $12 million. However, financial records indicate that only 60% of the apartments were sold in 1983—and 87% were purchased for under $500,000, according to a Forbes review of property deeds. The most expensive unit that went under contract was for $2 million—about $10 million less than Trump had claimed.

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A midcentury modern home, designed by the same architect who conceived Manhattan’s Museum of Modern Art and Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center, is for sale in Montclair, NJ.

This is the first time in more than 50 years the well-preserved property has been on the market.

Offers have already come in for the mint-condition house, which is listed for $949,000; but none has been accepted so far.

Designed by Edward Durell Stone in 1959, the home maintains lots of its original character.

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While modern farmhouses are crazy popular and sleek contemporaries are appealing to many, there’s just something about a classic Victorian that makes you think of hearth, home, and simpler days of comfort and grace.

Who knew they could be so easy on the bank account as well? We were surprised to find these five creatively colored Victorians, all topping the century mark, completely or partly renovated, and priced well below $400,000.

If you’re handy, you might consider a flip. But you might find them so charming that you want to move your family in and stay for a while.

Regardless of your own real estate wants and needs, you’ll find it fascinating to view these five vibrant Victorians. You’ll be astounded that both age and beauty come in such reasonably priced packages.

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“Real Housewives of Atlanta” alum Kim Zolciak-Biermann and husband Kroy Biermann‘s Alpharetta, GA, home is heading to auction.

Although the couple denied reports they were in financial trouble, the property is said to be in foreclosure and up for public auction.

According to a notice by Fulton County’s Truist Bank, the mansion will be auctioned off on March 7 at the county courthouse after the couple reportedly defaulted on the $1,650,000 loan they took out for the property.

The Biermanns purchased the 17,000-square-foot home in October 2012 for $880,000. It has a current estimated value of $2,519,500, according to Realtor.com®.

HGTV

The second season of “The Nate & Jeremiah Home Project” finds married design duo Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent back on the East Coast, delivering homes “that feel exactly like the people who live in them,” says Brent.

“We help figure out what matters,” says Berkus. “Because filling a home with things that have meaning is the most important part.”

In the season premiere, “Home Is Where the Art Is,” they head to East Rockaway on Long Island to meet Lisa and Mike and their four kids.

“That’s a lot of kids in one little Cape Cod house,” says Berkus, stating the obvious.

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The numbers: U.S. new-home sales rose 7.2% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 670,000 in January, up from a revised 625,000 in the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

This is the fourth month in a row that new-home sales have grown—this despite the lull in the broader housing sector, with existing-home sales continuing their downward slide.

The January sales figure beat analyst estimates. Analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast new-home sales to come in at 620,000 in January.

Year over year, new-home sales are still down by 19.4%.

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NBA center Mo Bamba is swapping one sunny clime for another.

After the seven-footer was traded from the Orlando Magic to the Los Angeles Lakers, Bamba wasted no time in listing his luxe, downtown Orlando condo. The three-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom, 4,800-square-foot unit is on the market for $2,879,000.

The talented 24 year old will likely find a lovely home in the Golden State, but he’s sure to miss life in this stunning Florida penthouse. Bamba’s ultramodern abode in the Sanctuary high-rise serves up awe-inspiring views from every angle.

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Photo by @themaximalistdreamer via Instagram

Having a spare bedroom makes hosting guests infinitely easier. But when it comes to decorating the guest room to accommodate visitors, many homeowners are unable—or unwilling—to spend lots of money on stylish decor.

Rooms that get more use, like your main bedroom, get the bulk of your budget, while the sporadically used guest room is usually filled with leftover or unimaginative furnishings.

As you begin to think about prepping your home for another season of hosting family and friends, we’re guessing your guest room could use a pick-me-up.

Maybe you recently moved or have just been putting off a much-needed overhaul of the spare bedroom. Whatever the reason, this week’s roundup of trending Instagram decor offers up a host of impeccably decorated guest rooms. Ahead, we break down the best aspects of each room and how you can replicate the look in your own home on the cheap.

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A lavish estate in Evansville, IN, designed to look like the White House is this week’s most popular home on Realtor.com®.

While this extravagant residence is not located at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., it has hosted some presidential-worthy events over the years. The property is owned by Steven E. Chancellor, the CEO of American Patriot Group and White Stallion Energy, according to the Evansville Courier & Press.

Other homes that made the popularity list include a midcentury modern beauty in Wisconsin, a whimsical Texas antique, and a picture-perfect Colonial in Connecticut.

For a full look at this week’s 10 most popular homes, keep on scrolling.