Home prices soared in 2021 and 2022, and as a result, the cost of residential real estate is now overinflated by roughly 25% in many parts of the country. Combined with mortgage rates that have doubled, most people would be unable to buy the home they currently live in. Historically, real estate booms have been followed by corrections that brought prices back in line with local incomes. However, that hasn’t happened with the current boom because, as of yet, there’s been little financial pressure for people to sell their home — and therefore to cut the asking price to do…

Last year, Thumbtack proclaimed 2024 as The Year of The Backyard, but has that trend still relevant? “In 2024, we saw a rise in homeowners focusing on projects that improve their outdoor spaces, and as more people choose to stay put and invest in their current homes, that trend shows no signs of slowing down,” says Morgan Olsen, Thumbtack’s interior design expert. In 2025, she tells me that homeowners are far more likely to focus on the home projects that bring them joy. “Having a personalized outdoor space makes it easier to host, enjoy meaningful moments with family, and relax,”…

Walk down a road in Kaua‘i and you might just get a sore neck. This street, aptly named “End of the Road,” commands you to look up—at emerald cliffs, mist-laced peaks and the drama of Mt. Makana. Keep going north—past waterfalls, taro fields and single-lane bridges—and you’ll reach Hā‘ena. Beyond that? The Kalalau Trail, gateway to the Nā Pali Coast and described by at least one YouTuber as “the most dangerous hike in the world.” And just before the trail begins, sitting amongst rainforest and reef: Limahuli Ocean Estate. What sets this property apart? For starters, 400 linear feet of…

For many Americans – myself among them – Memorial Day Weekend marks the start of the summer season. This is the time of year when we start enjoying our outdoor spaces, if we have any. It’s also a time when we may be working on enhancing them, having completed our tax returns. Which upgrades offer the greatest returns on investment? According to real estate platform Zillow, “Functional outdoor space continues to help homes sell for more.” In fact, the firm’s research reports home sale bumps of $10,000 for improving these spaces. Here’s what you might expect, especially if you live…

With federal funding to fight climate change in jeopardy, it may be architecture and landscape architecture firms, along with the associations that represent them, that will be increasingly counted upon to rise to the challenge of advancing the fight. As of this writing, funds for greenhouse gas reduction remain frozen while court proceedings are ongoing. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) funding, encompassing initiatives like the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator and National Clean Investment Fund, cannot currently be accessed by recipients. This means advocacy and innovation, oft initiated by firms in architecture and landscape architecture, is increasingly essential to fostering…

What happens when a property’s designer is also its owner? For starters, that property is created as a home, not an investment to be flipped, not one of many projects developed to meet clients’ briefs. The result is instead a deeply personal manifestation of that designer’s tastes, wants, needs, emotions. A space to love and to live in. Such is the case with Florida-based designer Lori Faison, who first visited Whitefish, Montana in the early ’90s while on a cross-country tour with her husband and some friends. The area’s “charm, natural beauty and endless recreational opportunities left an indelible impression,”…

Few buyers place “previous owner” at the top of a must-have list, yet provenance casts color on every address. A storied history suggests how a house is lived in, loved, even re-engineered. At 708 North Rexford Drive in Beverly Hills, that color comes from an elite palette. Three power players—fashion mogul Max Azria, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos with former author, producer and former U.S. ambassador Nicole Avant, and Fox Television chief Jack Abernethy—have all at different times called these walls home. From the curb, the house projects discreet East Coast formality. A high hedge, twin motor courts and a black-slate…

In a series of recent studies, states have been analyzed in terms of their household finances, home values, and property taxes in order to determine the richest cities in those states. Much of the Midwest has been covered, including the richest cities in Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois, to name a few. For this article, it is Wisconsin’s turn. This study analyzed 807 cities in Wisconsin with complete data from the Census Bureau, in terms of their median household income, mean (average) household income, median home value, and median property taxes paid per year, to come up with a list of…

Idaho, like its Rocky Mountain neighbors, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado, has changed significantly over the last 50 years. From a population of around 700,000 in 1970, by 2024 that figure had grown by 180.9%, to just over 2 million. Over the same period, the United States population grew by 67.2%. The economy of Idaho has also changed dramatically and is now far more diversified. Thus, not coincidentally, Idaho has witnessed a major increase in wealth compared to its past. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the top 1% takes home 14.9% of all income in Idaho and make…

One lesson we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic was the importance of creating a home that’s stylish, functional, and comfortable enough that we wouldn’t mind being there 24 hours a day if necessary. To a certain extent, there was also a shift from focusing on what’s best for resale value and more of an emphasis on design choices that reflect personal style. In the years following the pandemic, we’ve seen impressive demonstrations of creativity, especially during the summer months. Houzz recently released the 2025 Houzz U.S. Emerging Summer Trends Report, which identifies 8 new home design trends. “As summer approaches,…