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Getty Images While household debt reached a record $17 trillion in the second quarter of 2021, many American households have felt less financial stress this year thanks to Covid-19-related government policies. That’s according to the federal Financial Stability Oversight Council, which released its annual report for 2021 on Friday. The council was created by legislation
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A sign marks the entrance to the headquarters campus of Sears Holding in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Getty Images The beleaguered department store chain Sears is considering a sale or a redevelopment of its massive corporate headquarters in suburban Chicago, as its retail footprint keeps dwindling. Transformco, the parent company of Sears and Kmart, said the
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In this article COLM CLBK The days of rock-bottom rates are nearly over. The central bank will aggressively unwind last year’s bond buying sooner than originally planned after recent reports on inflation continued to show a sharp rise in prices. While the Federal Reserve said Wednesday that interest rates will stay near zero for now,
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Construction workers frame a new home being built by CastleRock Communities in the Sunfield neighborhood of Buda, Texas, U.S., on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021. Matthew Busch | Bloomberg | Getty Images Surprisingly strong housing demand, even in the usually slower season for housing, has homebuilders feeling increasingly confident. Builder sentiment in the single-family housing market
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A satellite image shows TD Bank Ballpark submerged in flood, after Hurricane Ida swept through the Bridgewater Township in New Jersey, September 2, 2021. Maxar Technologies | Handout via Reuters The commercial real estate industry faces an intensifying threat from flooding, which is likely to lead to billions of dollars in increasing costs, a new
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Market indicators suggest that rent hikes are coming in 2022. Average rents for a one-bedroom apartment in the booming suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona, have more than doubled year over year, according to data from Apartment Guide. Meanwhile, rents in Manhattan have reached fresh records as life returns to the cities, according to Zumper. The problems
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MBPROJEKT_Maciej_Bledowski | iStock | Getty Images For retirees searching for investment income and protection from inflation, one solution may be real estate investment trusts. REITs, as they’re called, are companies that own and/or operate properties like office buildings, shopping malls, apartment complexes and warehouses. While they do come with more risk than some other income-producing
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This $23.5 million mansion in Kauai recently sold to guitarist Carlos Santana. PanaViz Hawaii’s luxury real estate market is soaring to all-time highs fueled by several factors including pent-up demand from the coronavirus pandemic, record low interest rates and rising equity markets. In the first three quarters of this year, homes valued at $3 million
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In this article BTNB Hari Krishnan, chief executive officer of Singapore-based start-up PropertyGuru. Nicky Loh | Bloomberg | Getty Images Southeast Asia’s online real estate company PropertyGuru plans to use proceeds from its public market debut next year for mergers and acquisitions, its CEO Hari V. Krishnan told CNBC. The start-up — which operates in
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David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images Inflation grew at its fastest clip in almost four decades last month — and rising costs are hitting the biggest areas of household budgets. Inflation measures changes in the price consumers pay for goods and services. It jumped 6.8% in the year through November 2021, the largest annual spike
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courtneyk | E+ | Getty Images Covid relief programs allowed millions of struggling Americans to pause mortgage payments, and many of those bailouts are now expiring, putting cash-strapped borrowers at risk. “The maximum forbearance term was 18 months for most programs,” said Michael Fratantoni, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association. “And many borrowers are
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A “For Rent” sign posted in front of an apartment building on June 02, 2021 in San Francisco, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images Apartment rent growth and occupancy set new records in November, yet another sign that the nation’s housing market isn’t following seasonal patterns this year. Rent growth and occupancy usually cool heading
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Hundreds of thousands of homeowners could soon lose or sell their homes as Covid-related mortgage bailout programs expire. The federal government, big banks and mortgage servicers started emergency programs when the pandemic hit early last year, shutting down vast swaths of the economy. The bailouts allowed millions of homeowners to miss payments, some for up
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courtneyk | E+ | Getty Images With soaring home values, many sellers expect a sizable profit when listing their property. However, capital gains taxes may put a damper on their windfall.  Home sales profits are considered capital gains, taxed at federal rates of 0%, 15% or 20% in 2021, depending on income. The IRS offers
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