As mortgage rates stagnate around 6%, prospective homebuyers are feeling nostalgic for the 3% interest rates of 2020 and 2021. Google search results for the term “assumable mortgage” spiked in May, following a steady upward trend starting in 2022. Mortgage assumptions allow buyers to take over an existing mortgage at its current rate, possibly securing
Month: October 2024
New Yorkers may soon be seeing more of Italian basketball player Danilo Gallinari. The veteran forward has just signed a contract for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom home at One Williamsburg Wharf in Brooklyn, Gimme Shelter has learned. The news comes amid buzz that the New York Knicks may sign Gallinari to a contract for training camp
A pedestrian crosses a road in front of residential buildings in Beijing, China. Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images China vowed more financial support for real estate projects that fall under its so-called whitelist and to speed up banks lending of 4 trillion yuan ($561.8 billion) for such projects, according to the nation’s housing
Morsa Images | Getty Buying a home is often the biggest financial decision you’ll ever make. It’s not just about choosing a place to live; it’s about making a long-term investment that will impact your financial future for years to come. Therefore, if you are looking to buy a home, there are certain steps you should
A sign is posted in front of a home for sale on August 07, 2024 in San Rafael, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images Mortgage interest rates rose last week for the third straight week, hitting the highest level since August. That caused demand from both current homeowners and potential homebuyers to take a big
Beggars can’t be choosers — unless it’s your wedding day. Many newlyweds are opting out of traditional cash-fund gifts and adding the option of helping to pay for a home purchase instead. Wedding resource websites like The Knot and Zillow Home Loans found that 55% more couples are adding a “home fund” to their wedding
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu delivers his annual policy address at the Legislative Council on Oct. 16, 2024 in Hong Kong. China News Service | China News Service | Getty Images Hong Kong chief executive John Lee announced moves aimed at addressing the city’s housing affordability crisis, calling it “an issue of great
Anton Wormann, 32, moved to Japan in October 2018. Courtesy of Anton Wormann Anton Wormann, 32, has always had a passion for DIY projects and creating beautiful spaces. So, after he discovered that his neighbor’s property had been abandoned, he decided to purchase it and bring it back to life. Upon inspection, Wormann discovered that
Hidden inside a 46-story luxury condominium building in Miami is a massive garage where dozens of busy robots whisk cars to and from parking spots. The futuristic 24/7 operation unfolds across a 13-level garage and employs five car lifts, dozens of lasers and hundreds of bar codes embedded in the floors. Residents who pull into one
America’s office market is teetering on the edge of a massive shake-up as rising debt and the permanent shift to remote work leave countless office buildings across the country vacant and struggling. In response, experts predict a wave of fire sales and conversions that will turn these once-bustling office towers into much-needed residential housing. With
It might be too early to pop the Champagne corks, but Manhattan’s big-picture retail leasing scene shows strong signs of putting the pandemic carnage behind it. Even before anyone heard of COVID-19, online shopping depressed demand for brick-and-mortar stores by perhaps 10%. Lockdowns made things worse. Readers of this column know we’ve been skeptical about
Residential real estate is in a constant slipstream of whose market it is: buyer, seller, or often “nobody.” Now, signs are emerging that a more buyer-friendly market might be on the horizon (even though mortgage rates are on the rise again after plunging last month). That’s because in more than half of the 50 largest
Alexander Nicolas’s salad days were slathered in a Thousand Island blessing: St. Mary’s Island. Forty years ago, his parents spotted a small fishing cabin on a speck of an island peeking out of the St. Lawrence River in Alexandria Bay, part of the zesty Thousand Islands region in northern New York, and located right on