LOCAL MARKET UPDATE

The Gift of Homeownership

As the holiday season comes to a close, homeownership continues to be the gift that keeps giving. Not only does it provide the tangible benefits of shelter, safety, and warmth, but nice financial benefits. Real estate is the single largest investment most people make in their lifetime, acting as the most effective means to achieve personal and generational wealth. Case in point, The Federal Reserve reports the net worth of a homeowner is over 40 times greater than that of a renter!

The Denver Metro area is seasonally based, so looking at the year-over-year data paints a more accurate picture of our market at this time of year than the month-over-month data. Most of the metrics from our Market Snapshot are positive year-over-year (except for the number of Sold Listings and Average Days in the MLS). With more Active and Under-contract listings, we may be seeing a more balanced market going into the new year. Plus the potential of lower interest rates could positively impact the final data from December helping to mitigate the typical downward trend that usually occurs at the end of the year.

In Northern Ireland, one couple grappled with a problem familiar to families everywhere: How to get more space without spending too much money.

For years, Theron Truluck was living in desperate conditions in New York City, mostly on the Q train. Now he’s part of a program that prioritizes housing for people who do not have shelter.

A 1989 shingle-clad house in Bodega Bay, a townhouse in Santa Monica and a midcentury ranch house with a cabana and studio in Long Beach.

He and his daughter transformed an abandoned Nabisco plant into a Manhattan destination for people who liked to cook, to eat and to gape.

The boards have broad discretion to carry out their duties in the best interest of shareholders. But they cannot discriminate.

The Campbell family of Washington, D.C., beat the odds, keeping houses in its possession for generations and now owning an inn in Pennsylvania.

Two first-time buyers discovered that the co-ops in Brooklyn were bigger, but the condos were nicer.

OK, the Manhattan brownstone, now on the market for $6.7 million, wasn’t actually in the 1992 film. But it is where Kevin McCallister took on the Wet Bandits.

This week’s properties are in Greenwich Village, on the Upper West Side and in Hunters Point.

This week’s properties are a four-bedroom in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., and a six-bedroom in Hopewell, N.J.

With grand estates and rolling meadows, this Somerset County borough has long attracted the wealthy. But now it’s courting younger, less affluent buyers.

A Craftsman bungalow in Salt Lake City, a Victorian in Des Moines and a 1910 home in Peabody.

Whether you want cut flowers or a striking vertical display, these seeds will flourish in no time — given the right support.

This week’s properties are in the West Village, on the Lower East Side and in Fieldston.

Short-term rentals are taking over college towns, fueled by wealthy fans and investors who turn homes into hotels for a few weeks out of the year.

In his new memoir, “Uncross Your Legs,” a 95-year-old designer chronicles a lifetime of adventures in apparel (and out).

A 1906 Craftsman house in San Anselmo, a 1936 Tudor Revival home in San Diego and a 1970 farmhouse in Santa Ynez.

To renovate a market-rate rental, tenants must show that the problems violate city habitability codes.

The actor Charlie Carver bought a 755-square-foot house, beating out developers who wanted to tear it down. Then he needed a designer who shared his eccentric vision.