DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ A Controversial Vacation Homes Tax Is Dividing Lake Tahoe
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-05 | by ( Amanda Yen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

My grandparents' vacation cabin in Lake Tahoe is the stuff of legend. My grandparents' little house in South Lake Tahoe, which they bought for $113,000 in 1984, quickly became a haven for my family. Framers of the Tahoe tax measure took inspiration from Berkeley, California, which adopted a vacancy tax this year. Since the city of South Lake Tahoe was incorporated in 1965, it's been populated by a healthy mix of year-round and seasonal residents. As of October 2024, the median sales price for homes in South Lake Tahoe was $750,000, according to Realtor.com.

Persons: George Rose, it's, Amelia Richmond, —, Steve Teshara, Teshara, Frederic Lewis, Sherri Maslyar, Jeff Cowen, we'd, Amanda Yen, I'd Organizations: of Commerce, South Tahoe Association of Realtors, BI, Colorado and, Survey, Tahoe Chamber of Commerce, Realtors ' Association, Business, Tahoe, Planning Association Locations: Tahoe, South Lake, Berkeley , California, Oahu, Colorado, Aspen, Vail, Breckenridge, Bay, Colorado and Utah, Park City , Utah, Richmond, Emerald

☆ New homes are getting smaller. That could be big news for first-time buyers
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

In 1973, the median size of completed single-family homes was 1,525 square feet, according to US Census data. But as the cost of buying a home has exploded and McMansions have fallen out of favor, homebuilders have reversed course, building smaller homes with an eye to first-time buyers. Today, smaller, often more affordable homes under 1,000 square feet are harder to come by in most US suburbs. According to an NAHB survey, 17% of homebuilders said they built homes on smaller lots in 2023 to support home sales, and 14% said they built more townhouses. Smaller homes and fewer amenitiesHeather Eisenmann, a Realtor who specializes in selling new construction in Clarksville, Tennessee, said that she’s noticed that many of the new homes she shows now have smaller bedrooms and living rooms.

Persons: Jordyn Carias, ”, homebuilders, Alan Ratner, “, we’ve, Levittowns, wasn’t, Jacob Anbinder, ” Anbinder, Levitt, Irving Haberman, Michael Murray, Heather Eisenmann, she’s, ” Eisenmann Organizations: CNN, Zelman, Associates, National Association of Homebuilders, Cornell University, Sons, National Association of Realtors, Census Bureau Locations: Muscatine , Iowa, America, Levittown, New York, Puerto Rico, Real, United States, Horton, Clarksville , Tennessee, Muscatine, Sacramento

☆ Zillow Gone Wild Is Making Weird Houses Popular and Easier to Sell
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Michelle Mastro | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

While most people follow Zillow Gone Wild to gawk at the weird and bizarre features of other people's homes, some are looking to buy. And with Zillow Gone Wild and a host of other real-estate influencer accounts, a wild home is now easy to find. At the end of April, Leyendecker had a listing in Plymouth, Minnesota, posted on Zillow Gone Wild. Her guests are always amused to discover the home was listed on Zillow Gone Wild. "My husband was a little bit more reserved and nervous about sharing that the house was from Zillow Gone Wild.

Persons: Matt Kugizaki, Nick Levenhagen, Joshua, Nick, Kugizaki, Patrick Hasson, Levenhagen, Levenhagen aren't, Samir Mezrahi, Mezrahi, Kate Wagner, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Dodger Andre Ethier, Nick Leyendecker, Leyendecker, Hasson, Millennials, Ashley Spencer, it's, Spencer, home's, I've, Michelle Mastro, she's Organizations: House, HGTV, Los, Los Angeles Dodger, Homeowners Locations: Joshua Tree , California, Zillow, Gilbert , Arizona, San Luis Obispo , California, Colorado Springs , Colorado, Plymouth , Minnesota, Austin, Minneapolis

☆ Man Behind California Forever, Silicon Valley's City of the Future
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Hugh Langley | Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

He sees California Forever. And if he can't undo the damage, there may never be a California Forever. California Forever may be a subdivision, but it's precisely the kind of subdivision America needs right now. But here's the thing: California Forever may be a subdivision, but it's precisely the kind of subdivision America needs right now. Places like California Forever aren't being opposed by the people who are desperate for a place to live.

Persons: Jan Sramek's, Goldman Sachs, Sramek, Reid Hoffman, Laurene Powell Jobs, Marc Andreessen —, They've, Christie Hemm, Peter Thiel, Jan Sramek, Jan, Thiel, Goldman, CheatSheet, Sramek's, hadn't, Jonas Rave, who's, —, Guy Saidenberg, Evernote, Marc Andreessen, Jane Jacobs, He's, he'd, Robert Moses, growth.y Christie Hemm, Flannery, Bronson Johnson, David George, Andreessen Horowitz, Marilyn Farley, Farley, Solano County's, Kathleen Threlfall, Bill Mortimore, California Forever's, Jessica Christian, he's, Lyle Lanley, Solano, Sam Houston, weren't, Gabriel Metcalf, You've, John Garamendi, Garamendi, isn't, they'll, latte, Christie, Travis, I've, aren't, They're Organizations: Silicon, California, BI Development, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, Party, Rising Star, Facebook, York, Sramek's, BI Sramek, Google, American, Planners, Sacramento -, Travis Air Force Base, Area, titans, Farmers, councilwoman, California Forever, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Air Force, Flannery Associates, Disney, San Francisco, Vallejo Naval, Historical Museum, Rep, BI, Solano, Sierra, Goldman Locations: San Francisco, It's, Sramek, California, Rio Vista, Solano County, Napa, Sacramento, Silicon Valley, America, London, Zurich, England, Czech Republic, Dřevohostice, York, British, Eastern Europe, Cambridge, Bay Area, Hayes Valley, America's cutest, Atlanta, Phoenix, Copenhagen, Barcelona, New York, Sacramento - San Joaquin, San Francisco Bay, Lake Tahoe, Toledo , Ohio, Silicon, Google's, Toronto, Big Tech, China, Calif, Springfield, Vallejo, He's, Atherton, Foreverville, Fairfield, Austin, Solano, Valley, Europe

☆ I couldn't afford to buy a home in the US — so I invested in 5 in Europe instead
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

In the fall, I'm going on a trip with some of my girlfriends from college. Really, really good. I don't have 7 million euros to buy five properties across Europe. AdvertisementWould I move to more suburban New Jersey so I could buy a house? I would not make the calculus to move — whether that's another city, or another state, or a suburb — to buy a house.

Persons: —, Amy Beihl, I've, they're, I'm, There's, Homeownership Organizations: Service, Business, Colgate University, Mallorca Locations: York, New York, Mallorca, Spain, Italy, France, Tuscany, England, Stockholm, Europe, Swedish, I'm, New York City, New Jersey, that's, America

☆ The Thrill of a Great Steakhouse Isn’t the Food. It’s the Theater.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Rita Bullwinkel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

I mean steakhouses like House of Prime Rib in San Francisco, Hal’s in Atlanta and Bern’s in Tampa, Fla. Every great American city has one; really great American cities have at least two or three. This kind of steakhouse revels in dinner theater. In House of Prime Rib, for instance, a chef in a tall, pleated paper hat pushes a steel cart stocked with the finest cuts of beef around the restaurant as if he were manning a float in a parade. He stops so the patrons can fawn over the meat, and then dramatically carves the cut with an oversize blade.

Locations: San Francisco, Hal’s, Atlanta, Bern’s, Tampa , Fla, Rhone

☆ What about Don Jr.? What about Eric? Why Judge Engoron gave them lighter penalties than dad.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Laura Italiano | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Donald Trump, Jr., and Eric Trump are executive vice presidents at the Trump Organization. AdvertisementSince January of 2017, Donald Trump, Jr., and Eric Trump have run their father's real-estate empire as "co-CEOs," as lawyers for New York's attorney general like to call it. "I was focused on pouring concrete," Eric Trump had said in a pre-trial deposition, during which he pleaded the Fifth some 500 times. Like his little brother, Don Trump, Jr., was guarded when called to the witness stand. In the litigation with the New York attorney general's office, Eric Trump and Donald Trump, Jr. have been primarily represented by Clifford S. Robert.

Persons: Donald Trump , Jr, Eric Trump, Don Jr, Eric, —, Donald Trump Jr, Arthur Engoron, Trump, Donald Trump, KENA BETANCUR, Letitia James, Engoron, James, Andrew Amer, Amer, that's, It's, Whitley Penn, Don Trump, Jr, David Dee Delgado, Ivanka Trump, Allen Weisselberg, Jeff McConney —, Barron, Tiffany Trump, Clifford S, Robert Organizations: Trump Organization, Service, New, Trump, Getty, — Locations: New York, York, AFP, Springs

☆ Americans ditched big cities during the pandemic. Now many are regretting it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Kelli María Korducki | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Susan, a 30-something artist, lived in New York City when the pandemic struck. The pair had talked about moving to a smaller town someday — the pandemic just shortened their timeline. As rent prices in big cities shot up and jobs went remote, cash-strapped people were quick to take advantage of an unprecedented situation and try someplace new. It was also a favor to her husband, who never felt at peace in the bustle of the big city. A few months ago, she and her husband found a renter for their house and returned to the city.

Persons: Susan, Eager, Riordan Frost, Millennials, Frost, Alex Gatien, he's, Gatien, Alexander von Hoffman, von Hoffman, Sandro Galea, Galea, Kelli María Korducki Organizations: Harvard's, for Housing Studies, National Association of Realtors, New, Boston University School of Public, Boston University School of Public Health Locations: New York City, McMansions, Toronto, St, Lawrence, Canada, New York

☆ The Bohemian Bungalow in L.A. Was Tiny, but It Had Soul
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Julie Lasky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The City of Angels remains a city of teardowns. One house that slipped through the cracks is a 1927 Spanish Colonial-slash-Craftsman in the Fairfax neighborhood, just south of West Hollywood. In the fall of 2020, Siena Deck, currently a production assistant at HBO, won an eight-way bidding war to claim the heartbreaker, paying $1.29 million. Outside, jacaranda trees turn the grounds purple in spring. But what really impressed Ms. Deck, 25, were the decorative and frequently imperfect marks left by the former occupants, who lived there for 17 years.

Organizations: HBO, Melrose, Jewish Locations: Angels, teardowns, Spanish, Fairfax, West Hollywood, Siena

☆ Houses Are Still Big. Prices Are Much Bigger.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Michael Kolomatsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Until the 1960s, a typical single-family home built in the United States measured about 1,500 square feet. By the turn of the 21st century, the median home size was topping 2,000 square feet, according to the Census Bureau. Homes in this region now average 2,477 square feet, with the highest cost per square foot in the country. In the South, new homes sold in 2022 averaged 2,608 square feet, about 3 percent smaller than they were a decade ago, and second in size behind Northeastern homes. The smallest homes were sold in the Midwest, averaging 2,397 square feet, 2 percent smaller than a decade earlier.

Organizations: Census, LendingTree, U.S Locations: United States

☆ Barbie, Her House and the American Dream
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Anna Kodé | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

Barbie, Her House and the American Dream Take a stop-motion journey with the young, single homeowner of the Dreamhouse. Today according to Mattel, the toymaker behind the iconic doll, a new Barbie Dreamhouse is sold every two minutes. A vintage Barbie doll puts a record on, dances and sits down. He came to Barbie’s house.”Now, Ms. Dalsing lives in Saint Joseph, Mo., in what she called her own dream house. “In the early 2000s, single women were the fastest growing group of home buyers in the United States,” she said.

Persons: Ken isn’t, Barbara Millicent Roberts, Roberts —, Barbie, ” Ruth Handler, Ken, Handler’s, —, Barbie’s Dreamhouse, ”, Deborah Dinner, wasn’t, weren’t, Barbie’s, Felix Burrichter, “ Barbie Dreamhouse, ” Barbie’s, Sue Dalsing, Dalsing, “ Ken didn’t, “, ” It’s, Elliot Handler, Handler, Lisa McKnight, Mattel’s Barbie, Hugh Hefner’s, Helen Gurley Brown’s, ’, Brown’s, Brown, Young, Tiffany, Barbie —, Houseplants, Burrichter, might’ve, Maddie Bone, Bone, Homer, …, Ms, Amy Castro, ” Ms, Castro, Isabelle Roy, ‘, Roy, He’s, Barbie couldn’t, Christie, Kim Culmone, Catherine E, McKinley, Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer, Greenwood, Spencer, It’s Organizations: Mattel, New York Times, “, Cornell University, Survey, Wisconsin ., Furniture, The Times, Spice, University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Locations: crave, Britain, Saint Joseph, Mo, Barbie’s, Wisconsin, Levittown, Waldoboro, United States, Canadian, Alberta, Palm Springs

☆ James Taylor’s Childhood Home Was a Ghost of Itself, Until a New York Couple Saved It
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Nancy Keates | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

In the song “Copperline,” James Taylor sings about the Morgan Creek neighborhood where he grew up in Chapel Hill, N.C., lamenting the overdevelopment that has since changed the area. “I tried to go back, as if I could, all spec houses and plywood, tore up and tore up good,” the song goes. The lyrics refer to “the McMansions speculators tend to drop everywhere,” Mr. Taylor explained in an email.

Search resuls for: "McMansions"

12 mentions found