A penthouse within a not-yet-developed luxury condo building on Fisher Island is asking $90 million, and at that price, the sale would blow previous records for condos in the area out of the water.

Cut through the online clutter and armchair quarterbacking of the real estate industry with these expert predictions from Windermere Real Estate Chief Economist Matthew Gardner.

Median home price growth has slowed the fastest in Austin, Phoenix and San Jose, with fellow pandemic boomtowns Las Vegas and Boise also seeing significant slowdowns.

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A storybook house is a quaint style of architecture known for its cottage-inspired sloping roof, turret, and other fanciful features. Also called fairy-tale homes, they essentially look like a family of elves or maybe Snow White herself would answer the door if you knocked.

Although these houses evoke visions of the European countryside, this style is wholly American—specifically, Hollywood in the 1920s. At that time, soldiers had recently returned from Europe after World War I, and those who went to work in Los Angeles’ film industry (including Walt Disney, who drove an ambulance in Europe) often built sets inspired by the villages they saw in England, Belgium, and France.

“Silent films were often set in Europe in an earlier era, and actors, set designers, and audiences alike fell for the charming look of the houses in these film sets,” says Douglas Keister, photographer and co-author of “Storybook Style: America’s Whimsical Homes of the 1920s.”

A history of storybook houses

The home thought to be the original storybook house was known as the “Witch’s House,” built in 1921 on a studio lot, designed by an art director to serve both as offices and a film set. In 1926, the house was converted to a residence and moved to a corner in Beverly Hills, CA, where it remains today (and where it scored a cameo in the movie “Clueless”).

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After a sassy makeover by local designer Tracy Turco, the Cheetah Hotel in Palm Springs, CA, is on the prowl for a new owner.

The 12-room, 12-bath inn, built in 1954, wants $2.95 million. That’s a discount of $450,000 from when it came on the market in June (and then again in September) at $3.4 million.

Turco snapped up the vintage building in October 2021 for $2 million. Then she quickly redesigned it—mainly wrapping it in everything cheetah, from wallpaper to bedspreads.

The refresh was mostly a change of spots.

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In your search for a new home, you may have seen the term “site condo” in listings. Unlike regular condos, which are typically apartments or townhomes attached to at least a few other units, a site condo looks like a freestanding single-family house; it even has its own yard. Nonetheless, a site condo is located in a condo community with all the benefits (and restrictions) of condo living, explains Realtor® and blogger Norm Werner.

Here’s how to tell if a site condo is right for you.

Characteristics of a site condo

There are five criteria that must be met in order for the units in the complex to be considered site condos, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development:

Units must be single-family and completely detached from each other. This includes garages, archways, breezeways/porches/decks, or any other attached buildings.No part of the house, land, or airspace can be considered a common area.Insurance and maintenance costs of the individual unit and property fall solely on the unit owner.Any condo fees collected are for amenities that are outside the bounds of the property.Owners must abide by all condo association rules, known as covenants, conditions, and restrictions, or CC&Rs.

 

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In today’s hot housing market, rents are on the rise, which may have you wondering whether it’s time to consider becoming a landlord and buying a rental property. After all, who doesn’t like the idea of raking in rent checks from tenants every month? Still, being a landlord isn’t a cakewalk; it takes work, and sometimes being a landlord may seem like you’re shelling out more than you’re bringing in from rent.

And let’s face it, knowing how to be a landlord and knowing how to be a good landlord to your tenants are two different things.

Just so you know what you’re getting into, here are some tips on becoming a landlord who not only makes money from rent but also keeps tenants happy.

Figure out if you can afford to become a landlord

Renting out real estate on which you’re paying a mortgage is a balancing act. To be a successful landlord, you have to make sure that the money coming in from rent covers what goes out—or else you’re operating at a loss on your real estate.

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A widow’s walk isn’t a sad scene from a funeral. It actually has to do with an architectural feature found on many 19th-century North American homes along the coast. Also known as a roof walk or widow’s watch, it is an iconic feature of coastal homes, like those found in Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket. For lovers of antique homes, the widow’s walk is definitely not something to cry about.

“’Widow’s walk’ is an architectural term for a rooftop terrace area enclosed with railings that became popular during the height of the whaling industry in New England,” says Gerard Splendore, a broker with Coldwell Banker Warburg in New York.

The architectural feature is still popular with New England homes today and is cherished for its character, intrigue, and the potential stories older homes may harbor.

What is a widow’s walk?

Also known as a viewing platform, a widow’s walk has a long and interesting history dating to the 1800s.

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A micro-apartment is the urban equivalent of a tiny house—a small dwelling, typically under 300 square feet, some as little as 100—that is gaining popularity in pricey cities where larger apartments are financially out of reach.

These pint-sized pads give people a chance to live in the thick of things without blowing their paycheck … that is, if they’re willing to do some serious downsizing. Here’s the lowdown on micro-apartments, where you can find them, and how they make diminutive dwellings far more comfortable than you might imagine.

Where to find micro-apartments

A decade ago, micro-apartments would have been illegal in most cities. But the dearth of affordable housing options for singletons and lower-income individuals prompted a change in zoning regulations so developers could build smaller dwellings to meet this pent-up demand.

“Cities like New York City had size regulations amended in order to accommodate construction for these über small apartments,” says Steven Giles, a real estate agent with Douglas Elliman.

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If you’re a novice gardener, you’ve probably asked yourself all about annuals and perennials when picking out flowers at your local garden store.

Annual and perennial are classifications based on the lifespan and bloom cycle of a particular flower. It’s something that gardeners need to pay particular attention to so they can make sure their blooms thrive. 

Annuals and perennials bloom at different times and need to be maintained differently, so be sure you know what type of flower you’re planting before putting it in the ground (or flowerbed, or pot).

What kind of plants should you choose? We’re here to help you decide. Dig in to discover everything you ever wanted to know about annuals and perennials. 

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If you ever plan to buy a house, establishing a track record of past payments is essential, because it proves to mortgage lenders that you’ve paid people back (which means they’ll be more apt to loan you money for a home).

Still, if you have no credit history—because you’re young or just never bothered—how long does it take to build it from scratch?

Here’s the straight dope: Done right, it can take as little as six months. Done wrong? It can take several years. So if you’re in a rush to establish credit to buy a home, you’ll want to know the right way to go about it! Heed this advice to learn what to do.

Building credit: A timeline

At a minimum, you need to open at least one credit card in your name. From there, you just need to make a purchase using the card, and then make a payment. Once you’ve made your payment, your creditor will report your payment to one or more of the major credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian).

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Painting brick, for the most part, is entirely doable—and can give your old fireplace or brick house an easy face-lift. But you’ll want to plan carefully and do your research first. Painting brick isn’t like painting any old surface.

First up, you should know that not all brick should be painted.

Rick Watson, director of product development at Sherwin-Williams, recommends against painting brand-new, porous brick. Instead he advises opting for at least a year to pass so the brick can weather. This will also allow for leaching, a process in which alkali (mortar) and efflorescence (the white powder you sometimes spot on brick) have time to leach out of the brick before painting.

And while you can paint the outside of a fireplace, it is typically not recommended that you paint the brick inside a masonry fireplace, he says, as there is no guarantee the finish will withstand contact with open flames from a fire.

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Buying a house while simultaneously selling your current home is always a treacherous tight wire to traverse—but in today’s high-priced, high-interest-rate housing market, it’s both a blessing and a curse.

The good news for home sellers is that over the past year, demand for homes has driven prices through the roof, pushing home equity to record levels. Homeowners are essentially sitting on a pile of cash, which would definitely come in handy if they start shopping for a new home.

Yet any homebuyer out there today will also face steep mortgage interest rates, which have more than doubled over the past year to the 7% range. This has raised the cost of housing by around 70% compared with a year earlier, according to a recent analysis by Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale.

Most sellers who move would need to get a new mortgage, at a higher rate. It’s no wonder, then, that many are deciding to stay put.

David Parnes and James Harris of Million Dollar Listing LA share their secrets for success in helping investors in the shifting market. It will take thoughtful and savvy moves to keep investors purchasing into 2023.

A renovated showplace in Los Angeles, a ranch house in Sonoma and a midcentury home in Orinda.

A renovated showplace in Los Angeles, a ranch house in Sonoma and a midcentury home in Orinda.

Find out how Lancaster, California, agent Christina "Queen" Stratford learned that staying positive and connected is a winning combination.

The broadcast journalist recently painted the floors of her Florida bungalow. Some people loved the idea; others hated it.

In a discussion after Q3 earnings in which Compass reported falling revenue, Inman asked the "Selling Sunset" star to expand on remarks he made about the brokerage at ICLV back in August. He obliged.

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