Carolyn Bennett remembers flipping through a yellow telephone book in the 1980s to find carpet stores and workers who refinished wood to help renovate her home.

Today, the 67-year-old uses a chatbot to help her shop. Bennett has turned to ChatGPT, which she refers to as "Chat," to find vendors for a kitchen renovation project, compare heat ...Read more

New York City's Rent Guidelines Board lowered the range of potential rent increases for some 2 million New Yorkers in an unusual redo vote on Tuesday — a move that comes as the issue of freezing rents has taken center stage in the contentious mayoral race.

The board reduced the proposed range of increases for rent-stabilized tenants with two-...Read more

The $3.8 trillion Republican tax bill that just passed the House includes a provision to kill off the popular IRS Direct File program, which lets people file their federal income tax returns for free online.

The bill still needs to pass the Senate to become law, but if the bill is enacted as currently written, the Direct File program is slated...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Louis Vuitton is gearing up to go over the top again in Beverly Hills.

With plans for an ultra-opulent hotel on Rodeo Drive stymied by voters two years ago, the Paris fashion house's owners are back with a proposal for a theatrical flagship store designed by architect Frank Gehry that would anchor the north end of the famous ...Read more

With six kids, a housekeeper named Alice and Tiger the dog, the fictitious “Brady Bunch” of the 1970s sitcom filmed in a real-life mid-century California house, a perfectly groovy set for all the shenanigans that made the show so popular.

More than 50 years later, that split-level trend is resurfacing, but it’s not because of a newfound ...Read more

In 2019, Meta unveiled an ambitious pledge to spend $1 billion to help ease California’s affordable housing crisis that critics say the company, with its thousands of highly paid employees, played a role in exacerbating.

Yet not even halfway through its 10-year commitment, Facebook’s parent company has largely abandoned its work on the ...Read more

U.S. sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly dropped in April to the slowest pace in seven months, restrained by ongoing affordability constraints and highlighting a lackluster start to the key spring selling season.

Contract closings decreased 0.5% to an annualized rate of 4 million, according to National Association of Realtors data ...Read more

SAN JOSE, California — Sky-high downtown office vacancy rates continue to haunt San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco as at least one-fourth of those spaces remain empty in all three urban cores, according to a new report from commercial real estate firm Colliers.

The Colliers report provided to this news organization covers the latest ...Read more

Parties at vacation rentals sometimes raise the ire of neighbors when holiday revelry gets out of hand.

Airbnb announced this week it is rolling out “anti-party technology” across the U.S. this summer. The system will be in effect for two upcoming holiday weekends: Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.

The goal of the system, which is being...Read more

President Donald Trump said Wednesday evening that he was “giving very serious consideration” to taking the mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae public after more than a decade of being under government oversight.

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are doing very well, throwing off a lot of CASH, and the time would seem to be right,” ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday evening that he was giving “very serious consideration to bringing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public” after more than a decade of being under government oversight.

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are doing very well, throwing off a lot of CASH, and the time would seem to be right,” Trump ...Read more

When Seattle real estate agent Sam Cunningham prepared to list a remodeled Issaquah home for sale earlier this year, he made the usual preparations: modern staging, pristine photos and marketing copy gushing over the house’s hardwood floors and “stunning new kitchen.”

But Cunningham skipped one notable step.

He advertised the property on...Read more

The crucial spring home-sales season in the U.S., barely off the runway, is already sputtering.

April is normally when transactions kick into overdrive, warmer weather drawing in buyers and sellers alike. But this year, the number of signed contracts was the lowest for the month since the Covid lockdown in 2020, according to seasonally adjusted...Read more

The Chicago developer that was negotiating to buy the northern swath of the stalled Lincoln Yards megadevelopment site is now in talks to purchase the entire 53-acre tract, according to sources familiar with the deal.

JDL Development’s move to acquire both the northern and southern parts of the site was first reported by The Real Deal.

The ...Read more

Retirement is a goal that most Americans strive for, but sometimes the reality doesn’t match what you’d imagined. You may find that you miss work and the sense of purpose it gave you, or your financial situation may change and you need to earn additional money to support your lifestyle. Returning to the workforce after retiring may make ...Read more

You might think a house is just a house, and the stuff inside is just stuff — but you’d think differently if it were yours and it vanished in an instant, as happened to so many in Pacific Palisades and Altadena in the January wildfires. All of those material possessions are a part of who you are; you shape your home and your home shapes you....Read more

After voters in November sent a clear message that the rising cost of living remained a top concern, California lawmakers came to the state Capitol vowing to take decisive action.

"Our task this session is urgent and clear," Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) told lawmakers at the start of the 2024-2025 legislative session in early ...Read more