Although imperfect, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index is fairly closely watched as a guide to housing prices across the U.S. For the past few months, the index has been rising, so it’s not entirely surprising that the numbers released today show yet another jump — of 1.0%, on a seasonally adjusted basis, reflecting May …
Real Estate & Homes
Who Isn’t Being Left Behind During the Economic Recovery?
While the economy has been in recovery mode for the past several years, many groups have been said to be “left behind” — like essentially the entire middle class.
Supersizing Strikes Back: Homes and TVs Get Bigger, Sales of Yachts, RVs, Trucks Rise
After years of downsizing and making do, American consumers are going big once again.
Housing Prices Show Biggest Jump in 7 Years — but Here Come Rising Interest Rates!
If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the real estate market.
U.S. single-family home prices, as measured by the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, jumped 12.1% in April from the previous year. This is the fastest increase since 2006 for the 20-city index, which still shows home prices about a quarter off the highs of the real …
Dorm, Shmorm: Meet the Guy Who Lived in a Van for Two Years During Grad School
Many grad school students are poor, and pride themselves on living frugally while working on their degrees. One post-graduate student—and now, the author of a new book—took cheap living to the extreme, living in a van while …
What Retirement Crisis? Retirees Say They’re Doing Just Fine, Thank You Very Much
The common narrative is that low yields are crushing retirees’ income and lifestyle. Why do so many report having all the money they need? Here are five reasons
The New Way to Flip a House: Let Buyers Weigh in Before Renovations
In Baltimore, builders are flipping the way that homes are normally flipped. Instead of fixing up an older home and hoping that a buyer likes the improvements, builders are welcoming buyers into the process much earlier, allowing them to customize the renovation with their choice of countertops, cabinets, colors, tile, and more.
Dog Bites Insurance Companies: Man’s Best Friend Behind One-Third of All Homeowner Claims
Over the last decade, the number of insurance claims related to dog bites has basically remained flat. But the amount of money paid out in claims has soared, and last year dog bites accounted for more than one-third of all
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Home Prices See Double-Digit Jump
With a 10.9% increase from March 2012 to this March, home prices continued their upward trajectory as measured by the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index. The index has been rising for some time, but the pace of the increase is now the highest since the “bubble” days of April 2006.
Some of that is due to an investment push by financial …
The New Retirement: Why You Don’t Have to Pay Off Your Mortgage
The new breed of retiree sees low mortgage rates as an easy source of cash to boost income through rental properties and dividend-paying stocks.
Oklahoma’s Dangerous Dearth of Storm Cellars
UPDATED 5/22/13 12:30 pm
The deadly tornadoes that struck outside Oklahoma City on Monday have a lot of people asking why there aren’t more storm cellars and safe rooms in the area, which would have enabled more residents to shelter safely.
Glenn Lewis, the mayor of devastated Moore, Oklahoma, said today that he wants to pass a law …
This Housing Upturn Looks Like the Real Thing
The previous upturn in housing prices faltered after a year, but all the signs suggest that the current home price recovery will be sustainable.