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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

Trump's tax plan: 'Big, beautiful' bill could cost low-income Americans $1,600 a year, CBO says -- here's what to expect next
The “big, beautiful” tax bill that’s currently winding its way through Congress would, if it becomes law, lead to drastically different results for U.S. taxpayers, depending on where you fall on the income spectrum.
The wealthy would see their income grow while the lowest income Americans would experience sharp cuts, according to a report...Read more

Seattle considers banning controversial rent-setting software, RealPage
Seattle is on track to ban landlords' use of controversial rent-setting software that has been under legal fire for years.
A Seattle City Council committee on Wednesday advanced a bill to bar landlords from subscribing to software platforms that compile rental information to recommend rent prices. The proposal targets the platform RealPage, ...Read more
Real estate Q&A: Do I get more equity credit for covering house expenses after our divorce?
Q: When I got divorced a decade ago, I was allowed to continue living in the house until our son grew up, but I had to cover all the expenses for the house, including the mortgage. Now that he has gone off to college, I want to sell the house, take my share of the equity, and move to a smaller apartment. My former spouse wants to split the ...Read more

Why high mortgage rates mean it's time to save, not buy
If you’ve been watching mortgage rates hover near 7% this year, you’re probably feeling frustrated.
The dream of homeownership feels more expensive than ever. And for many prospective buyers, purchasing when rates are high means stretching their budget, settling for less house than they want or risking financial strain.
But here’s what ...Read more

St. Louis was a brick 'epicenter.' Can it keep its bricks after the tornado?
ST. LOUIS — Beyond immediate needs tied to shelter and safety, preservation experts and local officials say they’ve heard a common refrain in the aftermath of last month’s deadly tornado that ravaged parts of St. Louis, bringing down multiple brick structures:
What’s going to become of all that brick from damaged buildings — and how ...Read more

This one mindset shift helped me make it easier to save money
“Focus on facts, not emotions.”
I wrote that once, but I’ve come to realize that sometimes saving money is as much about contending with your emotions as it is about budgeting. Here’s what I mean.
I usually have this gnawing guilt anytime I spend a few hours at home doing “nothing.” To be clear, I don’t mean staring at the wall...Read more

To keep the middle class in California, should developers build homes to rent? Or own?
When you imagine a renter of affordable housing, Christopher McCormick is probably not who comes to mind.
The 38-year-old software developer was on his way to work in early 2020 when he passed an affordable apartment building under construction in Emeryville, California. He was surprised to find that his annual income — $79,400 — qualified ...Read more

'Unfortunately, Altadena is for sale': Developers are buying up burned lots
In the wake of the devastating Eaton fire that tore through Altadena, California, in January, hundreds of signs sprouted up in the ash-laden yards of burned-down homes: "Altadena Not for Sale."
The slogan signified a resistance toward outside investors looking to buy up the droves of suddenly buildable lots. But as the summer real estate market...Read more
Orthodox Jewish family claims video led to unfair suspension by Boca property association
A family is accusing their property association in Boca Raton of unfairly punishing them because they are members of the development’s growing Orthodox Jewish community.
The civil-rights lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, says that the Boca Grove Property Owners Association suspended the family’s rights to ...Read more

After newspaper investigation, Nevada legislature passes change to probate law
Nevada legislators approved a bill to change probate laws and sent it to the governor’s desk this past weekend, after the Las Vegas Review-Journal found a cottage industry reaped paydays selling dead people’s homes through court but often didn’t make a dime for heirs.
The state Senate and Assembly both unanimously approved a measure that ...Read more

St. Louis has lost residents for decades. The tornado could nudge more to leave
ST. LOUIS — The sounds of nail guns and roofing hammers echoed through the neighborhood as Lisa Mannery surveyed the impassible pile of branches stacked in her backyard. An HVAC unit hung precariously from the roof of the still-closed Save A Lot on Natural Bridge Avenue behind her house.
Her roof, like many others nearby, was covered by a ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Zillow says it's fighting for buyers. Compass says it's fighting for sellers. What if neither is fighting for you?
- Real estate Q&A: Should I pay $8,000 to repair damage from leak that didn't start in my condo?
- Seattle's affordable housing industry is in crisis. City faces tough choices
- Seattle office king Martin Selig loses another piece of his empire
- Eviction cases still soaring in the Bay Area five years after COVID-19