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Two new property insurers approved to sell in Florida. More coming, regulators say
Two more property insurers have been approved to serve Florida’s beleaguered homeowner market, the state Office of Insurance Regulation announced.
The office on Friday identified the two new companies in a news release as Incline National Insurance Company, headquartered in Texas, and Florida Insurance and Reinsurance Company, a Florida-...Read more

Philadelphia is among areas where renting is trending with millionaires
More millionaires are choosing to rent in Philadelphia.
In 2023, 102 households making $1 million or more annually chose to rent in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, according to a new report from rental listing website RentCafe. That’s up from 22 in 2019.
Across the country, millionaire tenants are attracted to the ease offered by turnkey...Read more

'A retail apocalypse': Big box and chain retailers undergo wave of closures
BALTIMORE — Customers who ventured into Rite Aid at Gittings Marketplace in North Baltimore during its final week in mid-June found a shuttered pharmacy, empty refrigerator cases and an assortment of greeting cards and beauty products at 90% off, but little else.
Across from the drugstore on York Road, a Party City sign tops a building that ...Read more
Real estate Q&A: Can we stop a resident from smoking on the balcony?
Q: Can a resident smoke on his balcony if the smoke is disturbing the resident next door, who also likes to sit on his balcony? Also, a butt fell several floors below on the balcony and burned a hole in resident’s outdoor sofa? — Catherine
A: Smoking can be a heated topic in shared living spaces, especially when it impacts neighbors or ...Read more

With a surging residency rate, this neighborhood is transforming LA
Like many downtown Los Angeles residents, Ricardo Sebastián doesn’t own a car and prefers it that way.
“I do not want the responsibility of owning a vehicle. That’s not for me,” said Sebastián, who grew up in Chicago relying on public transit.
The 38-year-old consultant travels around L.A. by train and bus, but finds most of what ...Read more

Seattle to ban controversial rent-setting software RealPage
Seattle will soon ban the controversial rent-setting platform RealPage and similar services, becoming the latest local government to take aim at a technology that critics say helps drive up housing costs.
The Seattle City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to ban a widely used class of software that gathers information from an array of ...Read more

Illinois must build 227,000 units in 5 years to keep up with housing demand, report finds
Illinois has a shortage of about 142,000 housing units and must build 227,000 in the next five years to keep pace with demand, a number that would require recent annual production rates to double, according to a new economic study.
The joint study published Tuesday by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the Project for Middle Class ...Read more

Critics fear tall towers turning downtown Boston into Manhattan
BOSTON — Critics of a proposed Boston zoning plan are fuming over new regulations that they say will “Manhattanize” the city’s historic downtown with shadow-casting 700-foot skyscrapers.
Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association representatives say the administration of Mayor Michelle Wu “blindsided” them with the final draft of a ...Read more

Why long-term CDs can be a smart choice in any rate environment
Whether interest rates are rising, falling, or holding steady, long-term certificates of deposit (CDs) can play a valuable role in your financial strategy. While timing the market perfectly is impossible, understanding the benefits of long-term CDs can help you make better decisions about when and how to incorporate them into your savings plan. ...Read more

Bitcoin mining: A beginner's guide to how it works
Bitcoin mining is the process of creating new bitcoins by solving extremely complicated math problems that verify transactions in the currency. When a bitcoin is successfully mined, the miner receives a predetermined amount of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is one of the most popular types of cryptocurrencies, which are digital mediums of exchange that exist...Read more

About 78% of Americans say they're uncomfortable investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Here's why
Despite all the hype around cryptocurrency, the vast majority of Americans say they’re uncomfortable investing in it, according to Bankrate’s 2025 Long-Term Investment Survey. Nearly 4 in 5 Americans (78%) say they’re not comfortable putting their investment dollars in crypto.
So, what might be making Americans uncomfortable with ...Read more

Zillow says it's fighting for buyers. Compass says it's fighting for sellers. What if neither is fighting for you?
As two real estate giants escalate a war over how homes should be listed for sale online, both sides say they’re acting in the interest of consumers.
Both sides also stand to make a lot of money if they win.
The issue intensified at the end of 2024, when Compass, the country’s largest brokerage by sales volume, began advising its sellers ...Read more
Real estate Q&A: Should I pay $8,000 to repair damage from leak that didn't start in my condo?
Q: My condominium is charging me $8,000 to repair a leak they claim originated from my unit. They sent the assessment in a letter without even discussing it with me. The leak wasn’t from my unit because I also had slight water damage where water leaked through my ceiling, leaving a stain, which they would have known if they had contacted me. ...Read more

Seattle's affordable housing industry is in crisis. City faces tough choices
Late last year, one of Seattle's most vaunted affordable housing providers put six buildings up for sale.
A few months later, another nonprofit listed four of its eight.
Then, another developer gave up its stake in all three of its affordable properties in Seattle.
While one-off sales happen from time to time, 13 buildings with more than 1,...Read more

Zillow says it's fighting for buyers. Compass says it's fighting for sellers. What if neither is fighting for you?
As two real estate giants escalate a war over how homes should be listed for sale online, both sides say they’re acting in the interest of consumers.
Both sides also stand to make a lot of money if they win.
The issue intensified at the end of 2024, when Compass, the country’s largest brokerage by sales volume, began advising its sellers ...Read more

Eviction cases still soaring in the Bay Area five years after COVID-19
The eviction court of Alameda County, California, was crowded on a recent Wednesday. It usually is.
Tenants, family members, landlords and attorneys — about 100 people in all — waited long hours to appear before a judge at the Hayward Hall of Justice. Fifty-six people were slated to appear that day in a marathon of back-to-back sessions. ...Read more

Seattle office king Martin Selig loses another piece of his empire
It took more than half a century for developer Martin Selig to build one of Seattle's largest downtown office portfolios — and barely six months to lose control of most of it.
Since late last year, 19 of Selig's roughly 30 downtown buildings have been put under outside management or turned over to lenders after pandemic-related vacancies left...Read more

High prices charged by Florida insurers revealed by cost-per-$1,000 analysis
Behold, the insurance secrets that surface when you look at publicly available data a different way, by ranking companies by what they charge per $1,000 of insured value:
—Collectively, Florida-based property insurers charge significantly higher rates per $1,000 than companies headquartered outside the state charge.
—Owners of condominium ...Read more

Gift tax: The exclusion limit for 2025, how it works and who has to pay
If you’re worried about owing gift taxes if you give money or property away, keep this in mind: Very few taxpayers end up on the hook for this particular tax.
There are two reasons why.
The first is that you can give away up to $19,000 in 2025 (it was $18,000 in 2024) per person — to as many people as you want, according to the IRS. And if...Read more

Inflation is bucking tariff fears, but the Fed likely won't cut rates, as Trump wants. Here's why
The U.S. economy has been full of surprises since the Federal Reserve started rapidly raising interest rates to quell inflation back in 2022. The latest shocker might just be that the Trump administration’s tariffs haven’t pushed up inflation more.
Since April, taxes on foreign-made and imported goods have been the highest in nearly a ...Read more
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