Consumer

For nearly a decade, large sections of Pinal County, Arizona, were at a standstill. Developers owned land and buyers wanted new homes, yet progress was blocked. The reason was clear: without state approval for water certificates, new subdivisions could not break ground. Then, in 2024, the county issued more than 3,000 single-family housing permits, leading ...

If you’re buying, selling, or refinancing commercial property in Connecticut, the rules around environmental cleanup have changed for the first time in four decades. The state’s longstanding Transfer Act — which required environmental investigations and cleanups before certain properties could change hands — ended on March 1, 2026. In its place is a “release-based cleanup” ...

You’ve saved for a down payment and are ready to buy your first home in Orlando—then you see the prices, and the dream suddenly feels out of reach. Orlando’s affordability crisis has left first-time buyers squeezed by high prices, limited inventory in the entry-level range, and a condo market that’s virtually stalled. Yet there are ...

After a period of uncertainty in North Alabama’s housing market, conditions are stabilizing. Homes are taking longer to sell than during the pandemic boom, but prices remain steady. Buyers have gained more negotiating power, while sellers who price their homes realistically are still completing sales. For the first time in years, both sides are negotiating ...

Buying or selling a home once meant endless scrolling, slow paperwork, and unpredictable pricing. Now, artificial intelligence is quietly reshaping that process – speeding up some steps, lowering costs, but also introducing new risks and uncertainty. If you’ve seen listings with flawless photos, received instant loan pre-approvals, or noticed price estimates that seem unusually precise, ...

You’ve just closed on your first house. You have the keys, the mortgage, and a list of projects to tackle. But most new homeowners overlook one critical step: planning for when something breaks. While it’s easy to focus on choosing furniture, picking paint colors, and improving curb appeal, few new owners prioritize organizing documents, scheduling ...

Tim Elmes can tell within ten minutes of a showing whether a Fort Lauderdale waterfront property will attract multiple offers. The deciding factors are not square footage or bedroom count, but a specific set of features that luxury buyers in this market now consider essential. “If a house has certain things, I know we’re getting ...

Queens homebuyers are no longer focused on trading up to bigger houses. Increasingly, those who bought their first home five or ten years ago are now looking to purchase properties that generate income. Instead of a larger single-family home, repeat buyers are targeting multi-family houses, small apartment buildings, and commercial properties as their next step. ...

After years of rapid sales and bidding wars, buyers in the Tampa Bay area are finally gaining the upper hand. Homes are staying on the market longer, sellers are offering concessions, and buyers have more negotiating power than at any point since the pandemic boom. For those who have been waiting for a calmer, less ...

After years of bidding wars and rapidly rising prices, San Diego’s real estate market has entered a period that favors buyers. For the first time since the pandemic boom, buyers have more negotiating power, homes are lingering longer on the market, and sellers are more willing to make concessions. But this window of opportunity is ...

After two decades of selling waterfront homes along Florida’s Gulf Coast, Bob Ruiz is seeing longtime patterns break. His clients—many of whom spent years living steps from the sand—are selling their barrier island homes and moving to Sarasota’s mainland. The reason isn’t a desire to leave the area, but a sharp change in the practical ...

Tampa Bay now leads the nation in foreclosures, with distressed properties hitting the market at rates not seen in years. Yet, in a sharp contrast, new home construction is thriving. Builders are selling homes, buyers are gaining equity at closing, and deals are proceeding despite headlines about distress and default. The numbers challenge the assumption ...

Across Spring Lake and the wider Jersey Shore, the real estate market is sending mixed signals. Homes are sitting on the market longer than last year, and price reductions are appearing more frequently in listings. Yet, closed sales are still setting new price records. The result is a confusing environment for both buyers and sellers. ...

Selling an investment property for a profit often means facing a hefty tax bill. But with a properly executed 1031 exchange, you can defer capital gains taxes by reinvesting the proceeds into another investment property. While this strategy can save thousands of dollars, the process is complex, tightly regulated, and unforgiving of mistakes. John Paul ...

If you’ve been buying or selling a home in Florida recently, the process may feel smoother than ever: sharper listings, more relevant search results, and property matches that seem almost intuitive. But that efficiency comes with a trade-off. Increasingly, artificial intelligence is shaping which homes buyers see — and which listings sellers struggle to surface. ...