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Buying or selling a home during a pandemic? Here’s what you need to know

ESCANABA — While the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed real estate transactions for some people, housing markets in many areas of the country are showing a strength and resiliency unimagined when this started. It’s critical to understand the pandemic’s impact on real estate, from simply touring a home to the ability to close transactions. “Whether you are new to homeownership or have been a homeowner for years, this is an unprecedented time. We want to ensure that during this pandemic, we can provide essential tips from REALTORS? for buyers and sellers so they have a safe and ...

US home prices soared by most in seven years

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices increased at the fastest pace in seven years in January as the pandemic has fueled demand for single-family houses even as the supply for such homes shrinks. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 11.1% in January from a year earlier. That’s the biggest gain since March 2014. Prices rose in all 20 cities, and the 12-month increase was larger for all cities in January than in the previous month. ìJanuaryís data remain consistent with the view that COVID has encouraged potential buyers to move from urban apartments to ...

Small touches create a great master bathroom

By Melissa Rayworth Associated Press It’s easy to design a gorgeous master bathroom if you have a huge budget. But with the right choices, says interior designer Gabriel Anderson, you can have an exceptional master bath without overspending. “Having huge expanses of marble is amazing and wonderful, but you don’t have to have that to have an amazing bathroom,” says Anderson, co-founder of the New York design firm Dean and Dahl. There are “little touches you can incorporate that really bring a master bath to life.” We’ve asked Anderson and two specialists in bath ...

For spring, window treatments with flair

By Melissa Rayworth Associated Press Even the simplest window treatments have an important role to play in the look of a room. “They really soften and furnish a space much more than most people imagine,” says interior designer Betsy Burnham of Los Angeles. Yet she often has to reassure people that drapes, curtains or other window treatments don’t have to be fussy. “It can be tailored, simple panels done in great fabrics and the simplest of hardware,” she says. With spring finally arriving, we’ve asked Burnham and two other interior designers — Florida-based Maggie ...

Small touches create a great master bathroom

By Melissa Rayworth Associated Press It’s easy to design a gorgeous master bathroom if you have a huge budget. But with the right choices, says interior designer Gabriel Anderson, you can have an exceptional master bath without overspending. “Having huge expanses of marble is amazing and wonderful, but you don’t have to have that to have an amazing bathroom,” says Anderson, co-founder of the New York design firm Dean and Dahl. There are “little touches you can incorporate that really bring a master bath to life.” We’ve asked Anderson and two specialists in bath ...

Housing construction drops in February

WASHINGTON (AP) — Severe winter weather in much of the country pushed home construction down a sharp 10.3% in February while applications for new construction fell by 10.8%. The decline pushed home and apartment construction down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,42 million units last month, compared to a rate of 1.58 million units in January when housing starts had fallen 5.1 percent, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Even with the two months of declines, economists are optimistic that housing will bounce back in coming months, helped by ultra-low mortgage rates ...