Real Estate News

Housing Costs Are 70% Of Increase In Inflation

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 07/20/2023 - 4:00am

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was up 0.2% in June, 2023. The all items index was up 3% for the 12 months ending in June. Once again, the BLS says the index for shelter (housing costs) was the largest contributor (70%) to the monthly all items increase.

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Fuzzy Invasion Of Domestic Rabbits Has A Florida Suburb Hopping Into A Hunt For New Owners

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 07/20/2023 - 3:00am

A trio of rabbits gather on a driveway, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Wilton Manors, Fla. The Florida neighborhood is having to deal with a growing group of domestic rabbits on its streets after a breeder illegally let hers loose. Between 60 and 100 lionhead rabbits have taken up residence in the yards of the suburban Fort Lauderdale community. (Wilfredo Lee / AP Photo)

WILTON MANORS, Fla. (AP) — When Alicia Griggs steps outside her suburban Fort Lauderdale home, Florida's latest invasive species comes a-hoppin' down the street: lionhead rabbits.

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Why Allowing Ukraine To Ship Grain During Russia's War Matters To The World

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 07/20/2023 - 1:00am

A harvester collects wheat in the village of Zghurivka, Ukraine, on Aug. 9, 2022. Russia has suspended, on Monday July 17, 2023 a wartime deal brokered by the U.N. and Turkey that was designed to move food from Ukraine to parts of the world where millions are going hungry. (Efrem Lukatsky / AP Photo)

LONDON (AP) — Russia has suspended a wartime deal designed to move grain from Ukraine to parts of the world where millions are going hungry.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the U.N. and Turkey, has allowed 32.9 million metric tons (36.2 million tons) of food to be exported from Ukraine since August, more than half to developing countries, according to the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul.

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Empty Office Spaces Can Be Converted To Residential Buildings – But It Won’t Be Affordable

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 07/20/2023 - 1:00am

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, more companies have offered remote work options for their employees, or have even switched to working entirely remotely – leaving empty office buildings a new fixture in many cities. In July 2023, Boston’s Planning and Development Agency announced a pilot program to offer incentives to building developers who convert office buildings to residential housing.

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Latest On Emergency Rent Aid Saga: Gov. Jim Pillen Accepted The Federal Funds

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 07/13/2023 - 5:00am

LINCOLN — Bucking the stance of his predecessor, Gov. Jim Pillen has accepted what’s left of millions of dollars in emergency rent aid that the federal government had set aside for Nebraska’s 91 smaller counties.

Earlier refusal by then-Gov. Pete Ricketts to tap the pandemic-related fund meant missed deadlines and the redirection of much of the original $120 million to other states.

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How Small Wealthy Suburbs Contribute To Regional Housing Problems

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 07/13/2023 - 3:00am

The odd headlines about little towns in the San Francisco Bay Area just keep coming.

First Woodside, a tiny suburb where several Silicon Valley CEOs have lived, tried to declare itself a mountain lion habitat to evade a new California law that enabled owners of single-family homes to subdivide their lots to create additional housing.

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Right-To-Charge Laws Bring The Promise Of EVs To Apartments, Condos And Rentals

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 07/06/2023 - 8:05am

More than 3.6 million electric cars are driving around the U.S., but if you live in an apartment, finding an available charger isn’t always easy. Grocery stores and shopping centers might have a few, but charging takes time and the spaces may be taken or inconvenient.

Several states and cities, aiming to expand EV use, are now trying to lift that barrier to ownership with “right to charge” laws.

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The World's Tallest Flagpole. A Tiny Maine Town. An Idea Meant To Unite People Is Dividing Them

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 07/06/2023 - 7:58am

This image from video provided by the Flagpole of Freedom Park in 2022 shows a rendering of a proposed world’s tallest flagpole in Maine. The 10,000-acre plot is in a township overseen by a state agency, neighboring Columbia Falls. (Flagpole of Freedom Park via AP)

COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine (AP) — Lobster boat engines rumble to life in quiet coves. Lumberjacks trudge deep into the woods. Farmers tend expanses of wild blueberries. Maine's Down East region is where the sunlight first kisses a U.S. state's soil each day, where the vast wilderness and ocean meet in one of the last places on the East Coast unspoiled by development.

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HomeVestors Said It Had Kicked Out A Top Franchisee Who Broke The Law. New Evidence Suggests It Didn’t.

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 07/06/2023 - 7:53am

A California real estate investor continued to be involved with one of the country’s most successful “We Buy Ugly Houses” franchises years after pleading guilty to felony charges for misleading two elderly homeowners who signed below-market sales contracts.

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‘Sticker Shock’: Greek House Values Skyrocket. The Tax Bills Come Next.

Published by Nikki Palmer on Thu, 06/29/2023 - 5:00am

The Alpha Xi Delta house on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. The sorority house was recently valued at $1.56 million, a staggering 534% increase over its old valuation. It’s one of many Greek houses on UNL’s campus that have seen their valuations skyrocket this year. (Courtesy Photo)

Greek chapters at the University Nebraska–Lincoln saw their building values jump nearly $1.2 million on average in one year, according to data from the Lancaster County Assessor’s Office.

“It was sticker shock,” said Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Jon Gayer. “Some of these groups are probably looking at a $100,000 increase in taxes.”