With rising home prices and low interest rates, Americans are spending a record amount of money fixing up their kitchens, bathrooms and man-caves. But a lack of skilled workers is limiting the boom.
First-time home buyers are participating at lower rates in the otherwise booming housing market. Experts offer differing opinions on whether — or when — younger buyers are likely to return.
For those eyeing city life, the trick to paying reasonable rent might mean downsizing — really downsizing. Developers of micro apartments says they offer affordability and a sense of community.
William Kitt was living on the streets, abusing drugs and very sick when Broadway Housing Communities in New York offered him a room. Thirteen years later, he's thriving. His art tells the tale.
The city has long suffered a dearth of decent housing. The recent collapse of vacant buildings — which in one case killed a man — has increased the urgency of finding a solution.
New guidance released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development warns landlords that they may be breaking the law by turning down tenants based on their criminal records.
Retirees and those aspiring to join the middle class are struggling to make ends meet as the value of the ruble has fallen along with world oil prices. But Putin's government is doing little to help.
Tenants often stop paying rent to force the repair of poor conditions in the only housing they can afford. But landlords say can't fix the problems until they get the rent. It's a vicious cycle.
Most people who end up facing eviction simply can't afford to pay their rent. Many low-income tenants work, but their rent outpaces their wages. An unexpected bill or a lost job can mean homelessness.