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Smarter Living: How to Automate Your Home

The home of the future doesn’t just live in science fiction anymore. You can own it today. Better yet, it doesn’t require thousands of dollars or long construction times. Home automation is available and affordable thanks to wireless Internet and smartphones. If you want to make your home smarter and work for you, look at […]
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Consumers Feel Confident in January

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had increased in December, improved moderately in January. The Index now stands at 98.1 (1985=100), up from 96.3 in December. The Present Situation Index was unchanged at 116.4, while the Expectations Index increased from 83.0 to 85.9 in January. “Consumer confidence improved slightly in January, following an increase in […]
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5 Home Improvements that Pay Off—and 5 that Don’t

Favorable economic conditions have long triggered investment in home improvements—more money, more upgrades—and progress on the housing front is set to spur the next wave of homeowner spending on both necessary and discretionary projects. How should homeowners invest their remodeling dollars this year?  By and large, homeowners can expect to reap the highest returns on projects that […]
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Friends Who Join Forces See Homeowner Dreams Come True

(TNS)—A group of longtime Seattle pals is going from renting together to buying houses together, like a real-life sequel to the television sitcom “Friends.” James Sutter, 31; his wife, Margo Arnold, 34; and another couple recently bought a new three-bedroom, three-story house in the city’s Columbia City neighborhood for $705,000. They chose the home partly […]
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10 Disciplines to Build Wealth

Looking to build more financial stability this year? The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals® (NAHREP®) has introduced 10 key practices that Gary Acosta, NAHREP CEO and co-founder, has created as one of the initiatives for the Hispanic Wealth Project (HWP). The HWP was launched by the NAHREP foundation with the aim of tripling […]
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Consumers Have Confidence in 2016

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had decreased moderately in November, improved in December. The Index now stands at 96.5 (1985=100), up from 92.6 in November. The Present Situation Index increased from 110.9 last month to 115.3 in December, while the Expectations Index improved to 83.9 from 80.4 in November. “Consumer confidence improved in […]
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Donald Trump Voted Worst Celebrity Neighbor in 2015

Americans would most like to be neighbors with the singer-songwriter and pop sensation Taylor Swift in 2016, according to the ninth annual Zillow® Celebrity Neighbor Survey. Republican presidential candidate and business mogul Donald Trump was named the least desirable neighbor of 2015. The annual Zillow survey asks U.S. adults which celebrities they would most like to be their […]
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Top 15 Cities That Party Hard for New Years

With holiday time upon us, it’s time to make those “spirits” bright during the biggest party of 2015 – New Year’s Eve! Everyone likes to let loose and have a good time with family and friends on this momentous holiday, but which cities do it the best? Real estate site Trulia crunched the numbers to […]
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‘Star Wars’: Ranking the Galaxy’s Most Iconic Homes

We’re just days away from the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the first of the franchise’s sequel series picking up three decades after the fall of the Galactic Empire. While we anxiously await lightsaber duels and starfighter battles (and new planets!), we’re tapping into our own Jedi powers to rank some of the most […]
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Savvy Storage for the Smaller Home

Many homebuyers may hesitate to consider a smaller home that lacks sufficient storage space. While this often means getting rid of—or acquiring fewer—belongings, there is still a need for accessible, efficient storage throughout the home. Short of adding or constructing areas specifically for storage, there are ways to coax more usability out of existing space. […]