How to boost your credit score before you buy a house
Dear Liz: I am trying to purchase my first home. I have a 20% down payment for the price range that I am looking for. The issue I am running into is that I have…
Hot Property: Adam Levine and Ellen DeGeneres make music in the housing market
No two celebrities have been as prolific in the real estate market in recent years as Adam Levine and Ellen DeGeneres. So, it’s fitting that the two have come together on a deal of their…
Herbert Sandler, half of couple who built a home-lending giant, dies at 87
Herbert Sandler, the surviving half of a husband-and-wife team who built the second-largest savings and loan and helped popularize an adjustable-rate mortgage blamed in part for the housing crash, has died. He was 87. Sandler…
Blackstone bets big on Amazon, e-commerce with $18.7-billion acquisition
The mall is now a warehouse, and Blackstone Group is betting $18.7 billion on the shift. That’s how much the New York investment manager is paying for 179 million square feet of urban logistics properties…
Amid housing slowdown, Southern California prices rise slightly in April
The sluggish Southern California housing market showed some signs of perking up in April, as prices ticked up one month after they fell for the first time since 2012. In a report released Wednesday, real…
8 Ideas for Transforming an Extra Room
Gdnyia, Poland | Poland Sotheby’s International Realty Much like petits fours at the end of a delicious meal, an auxiliary room can often sweeten the deal when deciding on a property to add to your portfolio. Whether…
Home price gains slow in L.A. and other cities for 12th straight month
Home price gains in 20 U.S. cities decelerated in March for a 12th straight month, suggesting that sellers’ demands have made properties unaffordable for many. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index of property values increased 2.7%…
A little-noticed zoning twist is set to spark a home-building boom in L.A.
On a recent spring day, bulldozers leveled the low-slung Holiday Auto Plaza in Palms, home to several repair shops. Just another unremarkable commercial building being swept away — except for the intriguing turn that its…
Legal weed can raise the roof on home prices
The societal ramifications of state-legalized marijuana — a $10.4-billion industry — are being hashed out, study by study. And home values are one of the effects under scrutiny. The link between real estate prices and…
Selling mom’s house may require an appraisal first
Dear Liz: My mother recently passed away. The title to her home was held in the family trust. My siblings and I are in the process of clearing out the house in preparation for a…