• I'm hosting a dinner party and thrifted vintage china to add a stylish touch to the event.
• I paid $65 at a secondhand store for 11 dinner plates, 12 salad plates, teacups, and more.
• I later figured out the pieces were from a discontinued collection and valued at nearly $1,000.

I almost gave up on celebrating my birthday this year.

Then, while doom-scrolling through Instagram, I saw a video from Toronto-based influencer Isabelle Heikens, who hosts a multi-course dinner at her home each month. Heikens — who has more than 300,000 followers — prepped for her "winter citrus-themed" dinner party by making basil-infused olive oil, gutting grapefruits, whisking eggs, and setting her table with elegant plates.

In a separate video, her guests enjoy cocktails while Heikens puts the final touches on the meal. They all sit around the table, devouring the food, as Heikens beams with pride.

I was sold. For my birthday in March, I've decided to host a three-course dinner at home, inviting my closest friends. I'll be the chef, and my husband will be the sous chef.

To set the mood, I needed place settings — but I was on a budget. I ended up thrifting a 61-piece set that I later figured out was worth close to $1,000. Here's how it happened.

I was on the hunt for the perfect dinnerware

Fine china is a must to make my vision come true.

However, with half a dozen guests to feed, I couldn't splurge on high-end dinnerware. I decided to visit Thrift Giant, a secondhand store in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, hoping to find affordable pieces that would work beautifully together.

Thrift Giant was overflowing with pre-loved clothing, furniture, and electronics. Dishware made up the smallest section of the store, so I wasn't expecting much. To my surprise, I hit the jackpot.

On a dusty bottom shelf, I found two bundles with 61 pieces of porcelain bone china, each stamped with "Oxford" on the bottom. Each bundle was $29.92.

The collection included 11 dinner plates, 12 salad plates, 12 bread and butter plates, 12 teacups with saucers, and a vegetable bowl with an attached underplate. The total cost at checkout was just $64.78 after tax.

I later learned that Oxford was a division of the Lenox Corporation, which produced fine china from the late 1920s to the early 1990s.

I found pieces with my exact pattern, called Spring, on Replacements, Ltd., a North Carolina-based online marketplace for fine china, crystal, silverware, and collectibles, both still in production and retired.

On Replacements, each dinner plate was $24, salad plates $14, bread and butter plates $10, teacups with saucers $10, the vegetable bowl $80, and the gravy boat with an underplate $190. Overall, my thrifted set seemed to be valued at about $950.

What's more, the items I saw on Replacements were discounted by 25% due to imperfections — so it appears the set may actually be worth even more.

I'm not the only millennial into thrifting and dinner parties

Let my millennial friends and I be the first to tell you: The dinner party is making a comeback — and I'm not talking about potlucks.

Instagram and TikTok are filled with pictures and videos of everyday people and content creators — including Heikens and another influencer, Olivia McDowell, who has nearly 200,000 followers —sharing their chic culinary soirées and offering tips on hosting a flawless event.

The interest in entertaining has, in turn, revived interest in fine china, which was once reserved for the upper class but is now more accessible thanks to thrift stores, estate sales, and vintage shops. It coincides with a broader cultural shift toward nostalgia and secondhand shopping as Gen Z and millennials move away from fast fashion and overconsumption in favor of a more sustainable, timeless style.

May Eason, founder of the Facebook group Beautiful Table Settings, with over 263,000 followers, told food and drink publication Eater in 2022 that the affection for vintage china is also simply about the love of sharing beautiful things.

"You're doing this for your family and your friends, so you want to make your table presentable and pretty," Eason said. "And it's fun to play with it. I think younger people are finally realizing you can change it up."

I completely agree.

I want the evening to be exquisite

While I've hosted dinners before, I've never put together an evening as curated as the ones Heikens throws.

I've spent hours researching ideas on social media, screenshotting everything that catches my eye — from overflowing tablescapes filled with serving platters and colorful drinks to the perfect playlist.

My husband and I only have a couple of chairs, so I'll rent extras. I'll visit Home Goods or Anthropologie to find tablecloths and napkins.

To further enhance the evening's vibe, I also purchased stylish drinking glasses from another thrift shop.

I found Poco Grande glasses, martini glasses, grappa glasses, coupe glasses, café au lait glasses, milkshake glasses, and more, all priced between $0.95 and $2.99. I also scored a cake stand, serving platters, and bowls — each under $10. I walked away with a total of 30 pieces for just $100.

Altogether, including the china set, I've spent only $168 on dinnerware for my party, far less than I expected. That leaves plenty of room in my budget of under $800 for groceries and decorations — and maybe a new outfit, too.

• Some older Americans said they moved abroad because they couldn't afford a comfortable retirement in the US.
• They cited high costs for medical insurance and housing as reasons for their moves.
• Four retirees who moved to Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Spain shared how moving helped their wallets.

Amy Glenn felt like she had no choice but to leave the US.

Glenn, 72, said she couldn't afford life in Texas after years of teaching political science and economics at a university and over a decade of caring for her parents full-time. She feared her $1,200 in Social Security wouldn't be enough to live comfortably in the US.

In January 2023, she paid $165,000 for a house in Costa Rica. Each month, she spends $300 on groceries, $70 on electricity, and $80 on medications and doctor visits.

"I would have never bought this much property in the US, and that takes a huge weight off my mind because I know that I'm not going to be homeless," Glenn said. "The financial stress is gone."

Over the last few years, dozens of American expats have told BI their reasons for moving abroad. Many, including retirees, have mentioned higher US living costs as a major motivator for relocating to relatively cheaper countries like Mexico, Ecuador, and Spain.

Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that consumer prices have risen by over 23% since 2020. Inflation typically hits older Americans harder because they often depend on fixed incomes from retirement savings or Social Security.

Over 760,000 Americans abroad receive Social Security benefits yearly. Data from the Social Security Administration shows that Americans' average monthly Social Security benefit was $1,976 as of December 2024.

"We have a substantial number of people who don't have sufficient retirement savings to supplement their Social Security," David John, a senior strategic policy advisor at AARP, previously told BI. "Social Security is it for a substantial number of people. That means, essentially, that they may not have the kind of retirement that they dreamed of."

The predicament has left many older Americans considering moving abroad as the key to a fulfilling retirement.

Retirees want to live where costs are low and quality of life is high

Some older Americans have the financial means to live in the US but realize it may not be the best investment or align with the lifestyle they envision long-term.

Shawna Lum, a Spain-based relocation coach who has helped retirees move abroad, told BI that lower living costs are especially appealing to retirees on fixed incomes.

"Affordability is a huge reason my clients move abroad, especially retirees on fixed incomes," Lum said. "Many of them find that in countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Panama, they can live comfortably on their Social Security check — something that just isn't possible for them in the US."

Take Sandy Berenhaus, a clinical audiologist who retired from her consulting practice in 2024 at age 73. She had substantial savings and investments spread across multiple assets.

Although Berenhaus could have continued living in her $4,000-a-month luxury apartment in New Jersey — a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit with its own indoor garage and a community pool — she knew that relying on Social Security as her main income might make retirement in the US financially challenging.

"My savings and investments might be viewed as 'substantial' by some but clearly stood the risk of being significantly depleted over time without making significant changes to my lifestyle, not to mention the occurrence of unforeseen emergencies," Berenhaus told BI. She added, "I'm not a millionaire. If I lose my Social Security, that's a big deal."

Beyond finances, Berenhaus said the divisive politics in the US began to turn her off. She wanted to live in a place where she felt she could truly enjoy life.

After consulting with Lum this year, Berenhaus packed up and moved to Barceloneta, a seaside neighborhood of Barcelona, Spain. She lives in a two-bedroom sublet with beach views and pays $2,000 monthly.

"Barceloneta is the perfect starting point for my next life chapter," she said. "Living here allows me to pursue many personal passions at a fraction of NYC prices. I have music, dance venues, and beautiful beaches at my doorstep. Plus, there are friendly locals and a huge array of similar-minded expats from around the world."

Healthcare costs have pushed some older Americans out

Stephen Vargha, now 66, left his job at a North Carolina television station in 2020. He expected to work for a few more years before enjoying his retirement in the mountains, where he bought a home in West Jefferson.

However, Vargha struggled to find work. Despite being open to a pay cut, he said he received "not a single phone call" when applying for jobs, which he said was worrisome. While doing the math for his retirement, he and his wife discovered their monthly health insurance premium of $1,930 — not including deductibles — would cost about $150,000 over the next seven to eight years.

Vargha and his wife decided the best action plan was to leave the US and move abroad, where they could better afford daily expenses and healthcare. He took his monthly Social Security income of $2,400 and relocated to Cuenca, Ecuador. He receives a net pension of $570 after taxes. He and his wife had about $850,000 in combined assets before leaving.

In Cuenca, a city in the Andes mountains, they bought a 1,200-square-foot condo for about $150,000. Vargha said each month, they spend $177 on health insurance, $22 on property taxes compared to $285 in the US, and $39 on homeowners' insurance compared to $145. Groceries are somewhat similar to the US, about $600 monthly, and they devote about $300 to restaurants and entertainment.

"We're able to do more than we ever could in the US when we were both working," Vargha said. "We ate out maybe once a week because that was all we could afford. We're now eating out eight to 10 times a month."

Brenda Price, 59, also said healthcare costs also pushed her to move abroad from Minnesota.

Price worked in international finance for most of her career and retired early at 55. She grew tired of paying over $1,000 in insurance premiums per month on top of an annual deductible of $10,000, in addition to $2,200 monthly plus utilities for a studio apartment.

"We would have been able to make it work, but it would have been a very different lifestyle because the costs are so much lower than they would have been in the US," Price said. "We were limited, and we couldn't spend much."

Price and her husband moved to Valencia, Spain, two years ago. They rent a 1,200-square-foot apartment with a balcony and terrace for $1,500 a month.

She said groceries cost 30% to 40% less, while health insurance is about $200 monthly. She said public transportation is about 40 cents a ride, while a museum visit runs her $2. She estimates they spend about $200 monthly on activities and about $300 on Spanish classes. She's also enjoyed the cost of travel, once flying to Morocco for about 80 euros, or $83.

"I am very much a budgeter, and I know what we have to spend and what we should spend," Price said. "We're very happy here, and we have no plans right now to leave."

• Kaitlyn Sundberg and her husband, Jack, felt they couldn't afford to buy a home in California.
• In 2023, they moved to Kansas and eventually settled in Neodesha, a town of about 2,000 residents.
• Kansas' lower cost of living allowed them to buy their first home and build up their savings.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kaitlyn Sundberg, 27, who moved from California to Kansas with her husband in 2023. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

For a couple of years, my husband and I lived with his family in a 300-square-foot studio apartment that we built in his parents' garage in Hesperia, California, about two hours outside San Diego.

At that time, buying a house wasn't even on the table, and studio apartments were going for about $2,000 a month.

We were very thankful for the opportunity to live with my in-laws, as they charged us very little rent, which helped us grow our savings. However, his parents had a full house, and although we had our own space, it felt cramped with little privacy.

After getting married in 2022, we started thinking about starting a family. We realized that to find an affordable home with enough space and build our own life, we'd have to leave California.

We were really hoping to move to places like Washington state, South Carolina, Oregon, Northern California, Utah, Colorado, or even Arizona. My husband applied for jobs in those states, but no opportunities came up. We also looked at housing in those areas, and many had prices similar to what we were seeing in Southern California.

In 2023, Jack found a job he really liked. After telling me all the positives, he finally mentioned it was in Kansas — which was one of the states I didn't want to move to because I was afraid of tornadoes.

Still, I told him, "Go ahead, go for it. What's the worst that could happen?"

He applied for the job. The following week, they flew him out for an interview, and two months later, we moved.

We found the perfect home

At first, we were living in an apartment in Wichita. Eventually, we started looking for a home, which felt like a big task.

We drew a large square on the map and began searching on Realtor.com. We'd find houses we liked, but by the next day, they'd be gone.

I eventually found a home in Neodesha that I really liked. We called our real-estate agent, who agreed to meet us at the house.

As we drove through Neodesha, we saw a softball game, kids riding their bikes, and the neighborhood pool full. It had such a great hometown vibe. I teared up in the car — it felt like a scene from a movie.

When we pulled up to the house and walked in, it was another moment of tears. It felt like trying on a wedding dress — everything seemed so perfect and fit so well. We put an offer on the house that day, and it was accepted the next day.

We paid $240,000 for the home. It's a four-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch-style house with about 2,300 square feet, and we're on roughly 0.7 acres.

We'd never be able to buy a house as nice as this one in California. I looked into it, and our Neodesha house is comparable to an $800,000 or $900,000 home in California.

Overall, the cost of living is much better here. We're saving thousands a month on housing compared to what we would have paid in California. Gas and groceries are much cheaper as well, even with recent price increases, and we've been saving by eating out less.

It took time to adjust to small-town living

Neodesha is a small town with about 2,000 people. The closest big cities are Wichita, Kansas City, and Tulsa, Oklahoma — all about one and a half to two hours away.

It was definitely a culture shock coming from California.

Growing up, my dad was in the Coast Guard, so I moved around a lot and was used to adapting to new environments. Even still, I remember going to the grocery store in Neodesha and thinking, "Why do these people want to know my whole life story?" I just wanted to buy my oranges and get out of there.

But slowly and surely, my husband and I started warming up to it. Now one of my favorite things is just talking to people and getting to know everyone. It's nice to know that everyone looks out for each other here.

I've made a life for myself here

I graduated with my bachelor's in Liberal Studies, focusing on elementary education. When my husband and I moved to Kansas, I thought, "What am I going to do now?"

At first, I worked as the director of a childcare center in Iowa, Kansas — about an hour's drive from our house in Neodesha. I was commuting an hour there and an hour back.

One day, my neighbor shared a job posting for an early learning center opening just around the corner from my house. I applied for the director position and got the job.

In my role, I've been involved in everything from the building process to ordering furniture, hiring teachers, enrolling students, and helping open the center.

I also joined the Neodesha Area Chamber of Commerce and now sit on its board, which has really helped me get to know people.

I go to a lot of community events and see parents and kids every day. Now I can't go anywhere without running into someone I know.

It's a small-town thing, and I love it.

We love small-town life but miss some big-city amenities

Before we moved, my mom was worried about tornadoes in Kansas. But having lived in so many places and experienced nearly every natural disaster — hurricanes, blizzards, and fire days in California — I wasn't too concerned.

At first, burn piles in Neodesha stressed me out, but over time, I've felt safer. Tornadoes are less common here, and although I still lock myself in the closet during warnings, I feel it's a quick event with enough notice before they happen.

Honestly, I haven't found much to dislike about Neodesha, except that people I know well see me around town without makeup on the weekends.

That said, it would be nice to see more shops on Main Street — little boutiques, mom-and-pop stores, and more restaurants. That's something we, coming from California, really miss.

Having a few more businesses would be great. It would help bring more people into town.

There's also no Target nearby, so more options for shopping would be nice, too.

We're never moving back to California

Kansas truly feels like home in a way California never really did. I feel like my husband, and I have come into our own and have established a life here.

We plan on staying in Neodesha. We think it's a great place to raise kids. I also love my job. I helped build the learning center and told my husband he'd have to drag me out of this town because it feels like my baby.

It's tough being away from family. But my in-laws love it here, and we're doing our best to convince them — and the rest of our family — to move here, too.

I honestly don't know how Jack and I lived in California for so long. Unless we were being paid a lot of money, I don't think we'd ever move back.

I visited recently, and I hated it. There were people everywhere, and they weren't as friendly. When I went to Target, I was the weirdo smiling and trying to talk to everyone, but no one was having it.

Also, driving in California stressed me out. The worst traffic in Neodesha is getting stuck behind a tractor.

• LendingTree ranked the top US cities for households with children using data from the Census Bureau.
• The company considered factors like median household income and childcare costs across 50 of the largest US metros.
• Large, underrated cities like Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, and Cincinnati top the list.

Buying a home is a major undertaking that demands a lot of effort and, in today's real estate market, a significant amount of money — so it's important to get it right.

When moving with kids, there are many additional factors to consider, like if the area has quality schools and healthcare.

The economic research team at LendingTree analyzed data from the Census Bureau's 2023 American Community Survey to identify the best US cities for families among the 50 largest metropolitan areas.

LendingTree considered several factors, including median household income for families with children, the average childcare costs for an infant and a 4-year-old, and the time it takes individuals to commute to and from work.

The research team found that the cities where families thrive the most aren't the bustling, glittering metropolises of the East and West Coasts. Instead, they tend to be more laid-back cities in the Mountain, Midwest, and Southern regions; the top five cities are Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Raleigh, North Carolina.

Matt Schulz, LendingTree's chief analyst, told Business Insider that these cities are generally more affordable for raising children compared to others the company found less ideal, like Miami, Las Vegas, New York, and Los Angeles.

"It's really expensive in New York City and other big cities in California," he said. "In those places, the cost of childcare may be more costly. In many cities on the coast, even if you're making a higher income, paying the bills can still feel difficult."

Below are the 10 best big US cities for families, according to LendingTree. Indianapolis and San Jose share the 8th spot on the list. While San Jose has a higher median home price compared to the other cities on the list, it also boasts the highest median income and a low percentage of children living below the poverty line.

For each city, Business Insider used the most recent population estimates from the US Census and median home price data from Redfin.

10. Louisville, Kentucky

• Population: 246,161
• Median home price: $255,000
• Share of children living in owner-occupied homes: 71.5%
• Median income for families with children: $86,595
• Share of children living below the poverty line: 18.1%
• Average childcare costs are for an infant and a 4-year-old: $1,567
• Average round-trip commute to and from work: 49 minutes

8. San Jose

• Population: 969,655
• Median home price: $1,387,027
• Share of children living in owner-occupied homes: 52.8%
• Median income for families with children: $205,285
• Share of children living below the poverty line: 7.5%
• Average childcare costs are for an infant and a 4-year-old: $2,899
• Average round-trip commute to and from work: 55 minutes

8. Indianapolis

• Population: 879,293
• Median home price: $240,000
• Share of children living in owner-occupied homes: 71.1%
• Median income for families with children: $102,418
• Share of children living below the poverty line: 13.3%
• Average childcare costs are for an infant and a 4-year-old: $1,970
• Average round-trip commute to and from work: 51 minutes

7. St. Louis

• Population: 281, 754
• Median home price: $220,000
• Share of children living in owner-occupied homes: 74.2%
• Median income for families with children: $107,086
• Share of children living below the poverty line: 13%
• Average childcare costs are for an infant and a 4-year-old: $1,998
• Average round-trip commute to and from work: 50 minutes

6. Austin

• Population: 979, 882
• Median home price: $536,500
• Share of children living in owner-occupied homes: 71%
• Median income for families with children: $133,266
• Share of children living below the poverty line: 10.6%
• Average childcare costs are for an infant and a 4-year-old: $1,770
• Average round-trip commute to and from work: 54 minutes

5. Raleigh, North Carolina

• Population: 482,295
• Median home price: $456,000
• Share of children living in owner-occupied homes: 73.9%
• Median income for families with children: $129,979
• Share of children living below the poverty line: 9%
• Average childcare costs are for an infant and a 4-year-old: $1,955
• Average round-trip commute to and from work: 53 minutes

4. Kansas City

• Population: 152,933
• Median home price: $255,500
• Share of children living in owner-occupied homes: 72.4%
• Median income for families with children: $103,180
• Share of children living below the poverty line: 10.6%
• Average childcare costs are for an infant and a 4-year-old: $1,903
• Average round-trip commute to and from work: 47 minutes

3. Cincinnati

• Population: 311,097
• Median home price: $226,000
• Share of children living in owner-occupied homes: 73.3%
• Median income for families with children: $106,971
• Share of children living below the poverty line: 13%
• Average childcare costs are for an infant and a 4-year-old: $1,868
• Average round-trip commute to and from work: 48 minutes

2. Minneapolis

• Population: 425,115
• Median home price: $318,000
• Share of children living in owner-occupied homes: 78.7%
• Median income for families with children: $132,055
• Share of children living below the poverty line: 8.9%
• Average childcare costs are for an infant and a 4-year-old: $3,131
• Average round-trip commute to and from work: 48 minutes

1. Salt Lake City

• Population: 209,593
• Median home price: $525,000
• Share of children living in owner-occupied homes: 75%
• Median income for families with children: $112,342
• Share of children living below the poverty line: 10.7%
• Average childcare costs are for an infant and a 4-year-old: $1,646
• Average round-trip commute to and from work: 47 minutes

• Business Insider spoke with four agents about their experiences as women in real estate.
• While their reflections differ, they spoke about challenges in being respected and taken seriously.
• They said at times they have to prove themselves, especially when finances or construction come up.

Women make up the majority of real-estate agents in the US, but some say it isn't always the easiest workplace.

About 65% of all real-estate agents in the US were women in 2023, the most recent year data is available, according to the National Association of Realtors, the industry's largest trade organization. (There are about 2 million brokers in the country, a figure that includes both NAR members and licensed agents who aren't members.) Despite this dominance, women remain relatively underrepresented in leadership roles.

While women have made significant strides in real estate, as well as other male-dominated fields like tech, enduring inequalities and biases still create a culture where some may feel uncomfortable and, at times, marginalized.

A series of accusations of misconduct over the past year and a half has cast a spotlight on how women in the real-estate industry are treated. It's prompted some to look inward and consider whether the profession's traditional practices and lack of uniform safety precautions may have contributed. At the same time, President Donald Trump's administration and other major companies are rolling back diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that may benefit women.

To highlight the nuanced, layered reality of being a woman real-estate agent, Business Insider spoke with four brokers from across the country. They candidly shared their experiences, which included being undermined by male colleagues and feeling unsafe during showings.

You'll hear from the agents in their own words, though their reflections have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Bess Freedman, 55, CEO of Brown Harris Stevens in New York

Before becoming Brown Harris Stevens's CEO, I was an agent in New York City. I quickly learned that you have to hustle twice as hard as a woman.

I got a listing early in my career and was excited about it. I recall going to show the apartment, and the seller asked me out on a date. I declined politely and was respectful, and he was too, but it was still unprofessional.

I recall pitching a listing another time when my daughter was just a baby. The seller questioned me incessantly about whether I would have enough time to show the apartment and be available to do my job because I was a new mom.

I thought to myself, "I'm a professional — so what if I have a baby? I can still do my job."

The double standard may have diminished a bit, but if you talk to women all over this country, for the most part, if they're working, they're also managing a household and their kids' schedules.

Regardless, we're still expected to show up with all the weight of our household agendas and be professionals.

The real-estate industry has changed a lot over the years, and women have made incredible progress and gained a lot of power — I don't want to diminish that, but inappropriate comments still exist.

To say we're treated exactly the same or that it's truly equal… I think there's still work to be done.

Danielle Andrews, 30, a broker in Tallahassee, Florida

I was a middle school social studies teacher when I first got my real-estate license. I've been in the industry for nine years.

Initially, I only planned to do real estate part-time to supplement teaching — just summers and a little extra income. However, I discovered my passion for it and have been fully immersed in the industry since 2016. I opened my own brokerage in 2022.

Navigating the industry as a woman has meant balancing breaking stereotypes and maintaining authenticity. It's been a whirlwind journey — not easy, but incredibly rewarding.

Even though the average profile of real estate agents is female, they tend to be more male-dominated when it comes to related fields like inspections, construction, and development. I've lost count of how often a contractor or client has tried to "man-splain" something I'm already well-versed in.

I've had experiences where I've spoken to male inspectors or contractors, and they'll say things like, "Well, you don't or wouldn't know anything about that," or they try to speak above me — as if we're not colleagues and on the same level. Those moments have taught me the value of preparation and confidence.

Safety is another critical aspect of this industry. As real-estate agents, we often meet new people in unfamiliar locations, so it's essential to prioritize our well-being.

Sometimes, sellers forget to secure weapons or belongings, and occasionally, sellers' agents fail to communicate that the seller will still be home during a showing. Entering someone's home can be alarming, and in some cases, people may react out of fear.

I've learned to always share my location with a trusted person, along with the name and details of the person I'm meeting. Most importantly, I've learned to trust my instincts. If something feels off, I take precautions.

I'll do some due diligence, especially if I get a gut feeling that something isn't quite right.

We have a benefit through our local board association called Forewarn. It's an app that allows you to search for someone by name or phone number and shows their criminal history and public records.

I also tend to do research on social media if I'm unsure about someone, especially if they weren't referred to me by a family member or someone I know.

If something still seems off, my last two measures are to take another agent with me — preferably a male. Sometimes, my husband has come along to showings for added presence.

No transaction is worth compromising your safety.

Lindsey Harn, 38, a real-estate agent in San Luis Obispo, California

I love real estate because I believe there is endless potential for all agents regardless of their education, socioeconomic status, gender, or sexual orientation. You don't need a fancy degree if you are willing to work hard to make it happen.

In many ways, I think being a woman in this business is a huge advantage. Buying or selling a home is someone's biggest investment and can be very emotional for both the buyer and seller. Women can be a bit softer, more sensitive, and more detail-oriented regarding homebuying and selling.

That said, having entered the business at a young age, I know that older men sometimes view younger women as weak or unknowledgeable enough to enter negotiations.

I remember when I was about 22, I came to a showing with a local attorney, and he said, "Oh my god, you're the youngest real-estate agent I've ever seen."

Another time, while working with a male colleague, I had a client in his 70s who was ready to make an offer. You could tell he wasn't comfortable discussing finances or finalizing the deal with a young woman. So he asked my business partner to step in for what I guess he considered "manly" negotiations.

As my age and confidence grew, situations like this became less of a factor. But I definitely remember those moments when being young and female felt like a disadvantage.

Mallory Bogard, 39, a broker in New York

I started my real estate team at the beginning of 2020 with my husband.

I have the unique perspective of running my company with a man by my side, which has really shed light on how people receive messages from men versus women.

Women can be just as capable — or even more capable — but the buy-in is often higher when a man says it. Men sometimes have an influence over people that women struggle to garner. I've witnessed how this plays out in business many times.

Sometimes, I can deliver the same message as my husband, but how it's received changes depending on who delivers it.

For example, sometimes, we have to make recommendations that go against what our client wants. This could be about price, timeline, or entering a challenging market. We may need to deliver tough news, like, "I know you need this number, but I don't think we'll be able to get it right now."

When my husband delivers the bad news, clients are often more accepting, thinking, "OK, he's done everything he can." However, they feel I need to do more when I deliver the same message.

I'm cognizant of removing emotion from message delivery. To be quite frank, I feel like I have to provide more facts and do more research when having tough conversations than my husband does.

I'm doing everything I can to teach the women on my team how to combat this double standard.

• Kenneth Graham, 57, lost his home and all of his belongings in the Eaton fire.
• Graham paid $163,000 for the house in 1996 and has spent hundreds of thousands on renovations since.
• He said that while he's insured, he'll need to postpone retirement to help cover rebuilding costs.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kenneth Graham, 57, the Forestry Superintendent of Pasadena, whose Altadena home was destroyed in the Eaton Fire. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I've been with the City of Pasadena's Urban Forestry team since 1989 and have worked through every season since then.

We always prepare for storms, some of which are mild, but this one ended up being one of the largest windstorms I've encountered in my 36-year career.

I worked all night into the morning, and on my way home, I got a call informing me that my house was on fire.

My house was behind a three-story building that had burned to the ground, along with the apartments next door and five neighboring properties. When I reached my place, I saw it, too, had been destroyed.

I bought my house in 1996 to create a lasting legacy for my family that could be passed down through generations.

My home was about 75% paid off, and I was all set to retire — but this devastating setback has delayed my plans by at least four years.

I was working during the fire

As the Forestry Superintendent, I lead a team of 16 city employees, including four arborists and three contract service teams.

We're responsible for maintaining over 60,000 trees throughout the city — overseeing tree planting, removal, and trimming. We also respond to citywide emergencies, such as the recent windstorm.

When the Palisades and Eaton fires started, we were already tracking the weather report and knew a windstorm was coming — though we didn't know how severe it would be.

Over 300 trees fell, blocking roads and damaging houses, cars, and private property. The situation was urgent, especially with traffic disruptions and people trapped in their homes or cars.

I was assigned the midnight to 6 a.m. shift and worked about 18 to 19 hours. We cleaned the streets throughout the city, requiring a lot of coordination to make sure everyone could safely leave and return to their homes.

My entire life burned down

When I got to my Altadena neighborhood, the whole block was on fire, and there were no fire trucks in sight.

My family had evacuated with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Everything — our home, three classic cars, family photos, furniture, jewelry — was lost. My mom had just passed away, and we lost her pictures and my father's ashes.

The damage from the fire totals over $1 million. I have insurance, but it doesn't replace everything.

There is some good news: One of my two dogs survived the fire. She was scraped up pretty badly, but he was alive.

I was building generational wealth with my home, now I'm hopping between Airbnbs

I purchased my home for $163,000 and renovated it into a three-bedroom, two-bathroom. Over the years, I invested several hundred thousand dollars into the property.

I added an extra bedroom, resurfaced the pool, retextured the entire house, remodeled the kitchen and bathroom, installed hardwood floors, and updated the air conditioning and plumbing. We had also recently spent about $15,000 on an asphalt overlay for the driveway.

At first, my wife, daughter, her husband, child, and I were staying in a hotel, but we are now moving from Airbnb to Airbnb week to week.

It's hard to secure permanent housing because everything has gone up three times its normal price, and landlords want you to have three times the monthly rent and a high FICO score.

My home is destroyed, but I'm determined to rebuild

Right now, I'm using the savings I had set aside for retirement just to survive. I'll likely have to go back to work for at least a few years to make it happen.

I visited my house the other day, and it looks like we'll have to wait a long time before we can move back in. One of my main concerns is our safety and whether we'll be protected if another fire happens.

Still, I really love our neighborhood. It was the perfect place to raise my family and be close to my job. It was a peaceful, close-knit community with wonderful neighbors — there was so much to appreciate.

Moving back to Altadena and rebuilding my home will take a lot of money and years.

'Everything changed in just 1 day'

Normality in my life feels like a long way off.

Throughout the day, memories pop into my head, and I realize, "Wow, that's something I lost." It's hard to cope.

What keeps me going is seeing so many others facing the same struggles. Knowing that a lot of other people are in the same situation makes this experience much easier.

My Forestry crew has also been a great support, keeping me and my family grounded and helping us stay on our feet. They started a GoFundMe for us, and we've raised $34,000 so far.

The way they've rallied behind me has been truly beautiful.

I'm not considering moving away from Altadena. I'm invested in the area.

It's just strange not being able to quickly go home. It feels like everything changed in just one day. I used to be able to get to work in seven minutes or less, but now, because I am living further away, there's traffic, and I don't even want to deal with it.

It's a different life now.

That said, I do have hope. I've been through many struggles before and won't let this one defeat me. I'm determined to prevail, return to Altadena, and reclaim my life.

• Natural disasters like fires and floods put financial and emotional strain on affected residents.
• Property data firm CoreLogic identified the US areas with the lowest risk from natural disasters.
• The lowest-risk places are mostly in the western part of the US, including Washington and Oregon.

Natural disasters are increasing — and it's causing some people to reconsider where they live.

Some of the most idyllic places to live in the US have become disaster-prone. Take coastal Florida, most recently battered by Hurricane Milton, and LA's foothills, which battled wildfires that have devastated many neighborhoods.

Extreme weather events — increasing in intensity and frequency — have claimed lives, homes, and businesses. They've cost taxpayers and insurance companies billions of dollars, and prompted insurers to reduce coverage in high-risk areas.

Alexander de Sherbinin, a Columbia University geographer who specializes in the human impacts of climate change, expects to see a lot of climate migration in the coming years as Americans search for stability.

"Not everybody is necessarily going to go far. But we could see significant movements, probably away from the coasts and toward the north," de Sherbinin told Columbia Magazine.

So, where is safe?

While all US regions will face climate challenges, some areas are more resilient than others.

Property data firm CoreLogic put together a list of the safest ZIP codes in the US based on the firm's Risk Score, which uses property data, replacement costs, and natural hazard insights to determine how weather and climate disasters affect single-family homes financially.

"We combine all of that into the calculation — so it's not just the peril, it's not just the resiliency of the structure," Corelogic principal data scientist Tanya Havlicek told Business Insider. "It's those two things together creating the financial loss."

BI analyzed CoreLogic's data by ZIP code, grouping the safest ones by metropolitan area and highlighting the 10 most populous ones below. The home price data, from Redfin, gives a sense of how much it would cost to buy a home there.

One ZIP code in greater Los Angeles, home to the University of California Irvine campus, appears on the list. It's a pocket of LA that is relatively protected from fires, floods, and earthquakes, said Anand Srinivasan, vice president of research and development at CoreLogic.

Here are 10 metropolitan areas with the lowest risk of climate damage, according to CoreLogic.

10. Spokane-Spokane Valley, Washington

ZIP codes on CoreLogic's list: 99203, 99204

What the low-risk ZIPs are known for: The Spokane area has a diverse landscape of hills, plains, prairies, and forests. It is also home to the Centennial Trail, a 40-mile path that runs from Sontag Park in Nine Mile Falls, Washington, to the Idaho state line.

Median home price: $566,000 (99203), $450,000 (99204)

Climate history: Spokane's worst climate event was the 2021 heat dome — lasting from June 26 to July 2 — which resulted in at least 100 deaths throughout Washington state, making it the state's deadliest weather event, according to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

9. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, California

ZIP codes on CoreLogic's list: 91945, 92007, 92093, 92161, 92182

What the low-risk ZIPs are known for: The San Diego metro area is the second-most populous area in California. The area is near the beach and has a mild climate year-round.

Median home price: $1,524,500 (Carlsbad) 931,000 (San Diego) $812,500 (Chula Vista)

Climate history: In 2007, the Harris Fire burned in San Diego County and destroyed 560 structures.

8. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Oregon-Washington

ZIP codes on CoreLogic's list: 97223, 97080, 97224, 98607, 97304, 97086, 98685, 97003, 97078, 98642, 97015, 98686, 97113, 98606

What the low-risk ZIPs are known for: Hillsboro and Portland are in northeastern Oregon close to the Washington border. Vancouver is just a 15-minute drive north of Portland.

Median home price (Redfin): $520,000 (Hillsboro, OR) $505,000 (Portland) $470,000 (Vancouver)

Climate history: Indland flooding poses the greatest threat in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro. The Willamette Valley flood of 1996 was the last and largest flood in Portland history.

7. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California

ZIP codes on CoreLogic's list: 92617

What the low-risk ZIP is known for: The University of California Irvine campus. It's in a part of the LA metropolitan area that is a somewhat protected nook — neither by the ocean nor in the mountains, and not too close to an earthquake fault line.

Median home price: $1 million (Los Angeles), $826,000 (Long Beach), $896,000 (Anaheim)

Climate history: The city's warm climate and dry conditions make it prone to wildfires. In January, the Palisades and Eaton fires ignited, tearing through several Los Angeles neighborhoods. They have claimed at least 24 lives and destroyed thousands of homes, making them the city's most destructive fires.

6. Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, Nevada

ZIP codes on CoreLogic's list: 89130, 89085

What the low-risk ZIPs are known for: Las Vegas is known globally for its entertainment offerings, but North Las Vegas and Henderson have more suburban lifestyles. Both are within 16 miles of Las Vegas proper.

Median home price: $415,650 (North Las Vegas) $489,900 (Henderson) $444,000 (Las Vegas)

Climate history: Inland floods are the most likely disaster in the Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas metro, according to CoreLogic. In 1999, Las Vegas received between 1.5 and 3 inches of rain in one day — which is 35% to 75% of its annual amount. The ensuing floods damaged approximately 369 homes.

5. Houghton, Michigan

ZIP codes on CoreLogic's list: 49931, 49913, 49922, 49921, 49805, 49918

What the low-risk ZIPs are known for: Known as the "Gateway to the Keweenaw," Houghton, Michigan, is located along the shores of Lake Superior and is home to Michigan Tech University.

Median home price: $420,000

Climate history: Data from First Street, a climate research company, shows that the city has a low wildfire risk over the next 30 years. However, rainfall could be an issue. In 2018, Houghton experienced its largest flood, with 3 to 7 inches of rain causing major damage, according to the National Weather Service.

4. Hagerstown-Martinsburg, Maryland-West Virginia

ZIP codes on CoreLogic's list: 25405

What the low-risk ZIP is known for: Known as the "Hub City," Hagerstown is a key commercial and industrial center for the broader tristate area, which includes Western Maryland, parts of South Central Pennsylvania, and the Martinsburg Panhandle of West Virginia.

Median home price: $320,000

Climate history: The Maryland government reported that its cities are vulnerable to climate events like droughts, storms, flooding, and wildfires.

The most recent weather event in the Hagerstown-Martinsburg metro was a winter storm in January, which brought on about 5 inches of snow.

3. Eugene-Springfield, Oregon

ZIP codes on CoreLogic's list: 97403

What the low-risk ZIP is known for: This pocket of Eugene is home to the University of Oregon campus. The area is surrounded by forests, lakes, and rivers, with many trails for running, biking, and hiking.

Median home price: $610,000

Climate history: Particle pollution — made up of tiny particles like dust, smoke, dirt, and diesel emissions — is the leading environmental concern in the Eugene-Springfield area. In 2024, the American Lung Association ranked the region as the fourth most polluted city in the US.

2. El Paso, Texas

ZIP codes on CoreLogic's list: 79925, 79908

What the low-risk ZIPs are known for: El Paso, Texas, is on the western tip of Texas and borders Mexico and is only about 10 miles from New Mexico. El Paso is nicknamed "The Sun City" due to its average of 300 days of sunshine per year.

Median home price: $254,974

Climate history: Even though there is plenty of sunshine in El Paso, its most-likely threat is inland flood. In 2006 El Paso recieved 19.5 inches of rain — double its annual amount — leading to flooding that caused more than $200 million in damage to businesses and homes.

1. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Michigan

ZIP codes on CoreLogic's list: 48126, 48235, 48224, 48221, 48021, 48205, 48236, 48080, 48213, 48202, 48225, 48206, 48201, 48128, 48216, 48242

What the low-risk ZIPs are known for: The Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro is located next to the Detroit River and is a short drive from the Canadian border. Both Dearborn and Warren are suburbs of Detroit, which is one of the least expensive cities to buy a home in the country.

Median home price: $205,000 (Warren) $240,500 (Dearborn) $97,200 (Detroit)

Climate history: The most likely weather crisis taking place is a convective storm, according to CoreLogic's rating. In 2014, Detroit set records by accumulating 94.9 inches of snow during the winter in a deep freeze.

• Sotheby's International Realty identified four things motivating luxury homebuyers in 2025.
• Luxury buyers want move-in-ready homes with sustainability and wellness elements already added.
• Some home must-haves include solar panels, spas, steam rooms, and pickleball courts.

Millionaires are like the rest of us — for the most part.

Global real estate brokerage Sotheby's International Realty found that luxury homebuyers want to live where their money stretches further, and they're willing to move to new cities or even other countries to make it happen. They're also prioritizing move-in-ready homes with wellness-oriented amenities, brand names, and environmentally conscious features.

"We're seeing that emerging affluents are increasingly driven by the lifestyle they aspire to, often prioritizing their personal interests and values when choosing a home," Philip White, president and CEO of Sotheby's International Realty, said in the brokerage's annual luxury real estate trend forecast.

Here are four priorities for luxury homebuyers in 2025, according to Sotheby's.

1. Young buyers are on the hunt for move-in-ready homes with features that will help them be healthier.

Sotheby's found that millennial luxury buyers prefer turnkey, move-in-ready homes over properties that require extensive updates or renovations.

"They don't want to deal with improvements," said Daniel Heider, a global real estate advisor at TTR Sotheby's International Realty in Washington, DC. "They want it ready, down to the landscaping, and they're willing to pay for it."

From the start, younger wealthy buyers expect homes to include features like "wellness facilities, cold plunges, steam rooms, pickleball courts, and infrared saunas," Heider added.

This emphasis on wellness design is part of a larger trend of American homeowners prioritizing mental health and physical well-being in their living spaces.

Wellness trends are also a driver in the Napa Valley real estate market, according to Hillary Ryan, a global real estate advisor with Sotheby's in St. Helena, California.

"In the ultra-luxury category, buyers expect to have a gym, productive gardens for farm-to-table dining, spa-like bathrooms, tennis and pickleball courts, and even Zen gardens and infrared saunas," Ryan said. "The influence of biohacking culture has made an impact on what buyers are seeking in their wine country residences."

2. Buyers are increasingly drawn to homes built by buzzy car, fashion, and restaurant brands.

We have designer clothes, cars, appliances — and, yes, designer homes, too.

While traditionally linked to luxury hotel brands, branded residences are becoming more popular, especially in Miami.

Luxury automakers like Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Aston Martin, Bentley, and Pagani have all ventured into Miami real estate, developing their own condos with names to match.

In 2024, Pagani announced plans for a 70-unit luxury condo in Miami's North Bay Village. The Pagani Residences will offer two- to four-bedroom units, ranging from 2,000 to over 3,000 square feet, with prices starting around $3 million — about the same cost as one of their cars. Each condo will come fully furnished, featuring Italian-designed Schiffini kitchens, 11-foot-wide terraces, and walk-in closets.

"I sold a unit to a guy who loves Pagani cars, and it didn't matter to him where the location was," Carlo Dipasquale, a luxury real-estate agent in South Florida, told Business Insider's James Rodriguez. "They could've built the building inland, anywhere in Miami, for all he cared."

It's not just carmakers leveraging their iconic brands to sell homes.

The owner of the popular Italian restaurant Carbone is partnering with developers on a high-rise project in Miami, set to be completed by 2027, with units starting at $5 million each. Meanwhile, Dolce & Gabbana is behind the upcoming 888 Brickell Miami development.

3. Homes with environmentally friendly features are appealing — partly because they might be worth more.

According to Sotheby's, hybrid homes are gaining popularity among luxury buyers as Americans look to balance sustainability and convenience.

Hybrid homes blend traditional and modern building techniques and styles. They often use classic materials, like stone or wood, alongside sustainable technologies such as rainwater harvesting systems and green roofs, also known as living roofs.

Ryan MacLaughlin, a Maui-based principal broker with Sotheby's, said that "100%" of the high-end homes his brokerage sells in Hawaii have at least one sustainable feature.

"The high-end homeowner is still the most price-conscious on the market," he said. "They don't want to waste money, and sustainable features help them feel confident they can run their homes as efficiently as possible at a lower cost."

Sotheby's 2025 survey of its agents found that solar panels are buyers' most sought-after green features, primarily because they can reduce utility bills and increase homes' value.

Luxury buyers expect eco-friendly features like solar panels to be included from the start, not added later, said Darlene Streit, a global real estate advisor at Sotheby's in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

"There was a craze with people renovating their homes to be more sustainable during the pandemic, and now I find that more people want that done for them," Streit added. "They will pay more to have it done rather than have to worry about doing it themselves."

4. Wealthy buyers want to live where their money goes further.

The Midwest's affordable homes and strong job market have made it a prime homebuying destination for Americans of all income levels.

Paul Handle, managing director of Mahler Sotheby's International Realty in Milwaukee, said that the surge in demand has sparked a "renaissance" in the region's luxury real estate market.

"Luxury buyers are increasingly looking at the Midwest because of the incredible value they receive compared with coastal cities," he said. "They can purchase expansive properties, often with unique architectural details or waterfront access, for a fraction of the cost they would pay in New York, Los Angeles, or Miami."

Data from Redfin shows that in December, the median sale price in Milwaukee was $216,000, far less than New York City's median sale price of $825,000.

Beyond cost savings, Handle said that the Midwest's slower pace of life and more predictable climate are also drawing buyers.

Sotheby's also found that cost of living and quality of life concerns motivate young wealthy Americans to look beyond US borders to European countries like Italy.

The brokerage calls it the "White Lotus" effect, inspired by the popular HBO series. Young investors —  including digital nomads and tech and finance workers — are moving to places like Lake Como, where their money fetches a better life, the vibes are relaxed, and golden visas offer a path to residency.

• Developer and interior designer Robert Novogratz shared the mistakes people make during renovations.
• Novogratz has bought, renovated, and sold homes with his wife and business partner for over 25 years.
• Common missteps include not vetting contractors and going overboard with color and pattern, he said.

Home renovations are a practical way for homeowners to create the space they want without the high cost of buying new.

However, without careful planning and attention to detail, projects can easily cost more than expected — or might not turn out as envisioned.

Robert Novogratz — a New York-based designer and developer with over 25 years of experience buying, selling, and renovating homes and hotels alongside his wife and business partner, Cortney — has some advice.

The duo, who have seven children and call themselves the Novogratz, compiled the lessons they've learned throughout their years in the home renovation and design industry in a 2024 book.

"The best decisions we've ever made — the ones that felt right and true and are still with me today — were the ones we made when we were slightly limited, either financially or by square footage. Those are the moments that forced us to get creative," the couple wrote in the book.

The Novogratz have completed projects from Los Angeles to Brazil, including the bohemian-chic Hotel Dylan in Woodstock, New York, and the California mountain home of skateboarding legend Tony Hawk.

Here are seven mistakes homeowners often make when renovating and designing their homes, from choosing the wrong-sized furniture to hanging art too high, according to Robert Novogratz.

1. One mistake many homeowners make is not hiring the right contractor.

"When you hire a contractor, check all of their references and previous work extensively," he told Business Insider. "It's crucial for everything, from avoiding lawsuits to preventing thievery or shoddy work and making sure the job is finished on time."

Novogratz recommends checking at least three references and visiting their past projects in person before hiring a contractor. He said failing to conduct proper due diligence could cost homeowners hundreds or thousands of dollars.

"The world has become very litigious," Novogratz said. "Anytime someone walks on your property, you're at risk, so your general contractor needs to be insured. As a homeowner, you should also be included in their policies as 'additional insured.'"

2. People often choose furniture that's too large or too small for a room, which can throw off its entire vibe.

Novogratz said getting the scale right is key.

Furniture that's too small can get lost in a room, while pieces that are too large can overwhelm the space.

The same goes for rugs, he added.

3. Homeowners who don't stick to their renovation budgets might buy things they don't truly need.

Novogratz suggests homeowners create a wish list when renovating their home and follow it closely.

"You want to stick to that budget and then pick what you want in your home," he said.

4. Artwork is often hung too high on walls.

"Usually, 60 inches from the center of an art piece is how you hang something on a wall. But art is hung too high sometimes — I see that a lot," Novogratz said.

Hanging art at this height can ensure it's at eye level for most people, making it easier to enjoy. It also might help the room feel more intentional and organized.

5. People add too many colors and patterns to their homes, which can be overwhelming.

"My wife and I love color and patterns in homes, but sometimes it can be a problem," Novogratz said. "You might see checks, stripes, dots, or other patterns that just don't work together. It can be too much.

He emphasized that great interior design is about balance and making sure all elements complement each other in a cohesive and harmonious way.

"Editing is key in design — more isn't always more," Novogratz added. "I love many things, but sometimes less is better."

According to Novogratz, a home "should tell a story." Mixing and matching elements, like having "five different hardwood floors" or mismatched decor styles, can be a chaotic faux pas.

"I'm one of those people that believes everything has to make sense — the dots need to connect the chapters," he said.

6. Homeowners sometimes back-burner structural necessities in their quest to make spaces aesthetically pleasing.

"We all want to make the house beautiful, but when you're building, the most important thing is getting the basics right," Novogratz said.

"Don't just patch the roof — make it perfect," he added. "The plumbing and the electrical work might seem boring, but they're the most important. Make sure that doesn't come back to bite you in the ass."

7. People ignore their intuition. Don't — it's your greatest asset.

"Sometimes a home has great bones but a weird layout or floor plan," Novogratz said. "You have to get a little creative. For us — like anyone else — our gut instincts are usually right. When we've ignored them, we've been wrong."

• America has a love affair with cowboy culture, from "Yellowstone" to Beyoncé's latest album.
• The pandemic supercharged interest in ranches, but buyers are still drawn to them, brokers told BI.
• Here are three reasons people are fascinated by rugged, romantic ranch life.

It feels like everyone wants to be a cowboy.

Western wear — scuffed boots, wide-brimmed cowboy hats, and rugged denim — influences fashion from New York to California, with Vogue and GQ dubbing it trendy. Beyoncé's chart-topping 2024 album "Cowboy Carter" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify. Paramount's "Yellowstone," a five-season modern Western starring Kevin Costner, ended in a dramatic finale in December that drew 11.4 million viewers.

As "cowboy-core" becomes more mainstream, it's also putting a spotlight on the ranch real-estate market, said William Elfland, the managing director of Montana-based Hall and Hall, a brokerage specializing in farms and ranches.

"De-urbanization, mostly due to COVID, and popular TV shows like 'Yellowstone' raised awareness of the culture," Elfland told Business Insider. "These factors led more people to want to relocate to these areas, which has had a big impact on the marketplace."

"We saw huge growth in 2021, followed by a feeding frenzy into 2022. By 2023 and 2024, the market has normalized," said Elfland, who has brokered sales of ranches for 25 years.

Wyoming-based ranch brokerage Live Water Properties said it transacted deals with 31 buyers and 28 sellers in 2024. That's down from 2021, when it worked with 65 buyers and 62 sellers, but still a robust sales volume.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) found that there were about 1.9 million ranches and farms in the US with an average size of 463 acres as of 2022, the most recent data available. Primarily used for raising livestock and outdoor recreation, ranches are typically located in the western United States and are prevalent in states like Montana, Wyoming, and Texas.

Owning ranches presents some challenges, including contending with extreme weather events, such as fires and droughts, that are intensified by the climate crisis. These events make it difficult to grow crops and keep livestock healthy.

Still, ranches are a buzzy topic in the real-estate industry. Here are three reasons everyone's talking about them.

1. Hollywood and popular culture put ranches center stage.

Ranch broker John Merritt of Live Water Properties said he is "consistently" contacted by production companies looking for ranches to feature on television shows.

"Everyone knows about the 'Yellowstone' phenomenon," said Merritt, who has 15 years of experience in the ranch market. "People are drawn to the idea of Western and rural culture. It's taking over the public airwaves, from reality shows to beyond."

Beyond "Yellowstone" and Beyoncé's "Cowboy Carter" album, artists like Shaboozey and Lil Nas X have dominated Billboard's Hot 100 chart, and reality shows like Peacock's 'The McBee Dynasty' offer a window into ranch life.

Some people are so captivated by the lifestyle they want to live it themselves.

In 2024, a mansion on 8.5 acres in Cashiers, North Carolina, inspired by the Dutton family's ranch in "Yellowstone," sold for $7.5 million.

2. Ranches appeal to a wide range of buyers.

Ranches offer something for everyone.

Some buyers seek to live off the land, enjoy more living space, or just relax — desires that became more widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic as lockdowns led some people to seek larger homes with ample outdoor space and lower-stress, self-sufficient lifestyles.

Smaller ranches can be priced like houses. Atwell Ranch — a 210-acre property in Cisco, Texas, about two hours southwest of Fort Worth — is listed for $803,000. In contrast, larger properties can command sales prices in the millions and up. This 10,648-acre ranch in Sudan, Texas — about an hour northwest of Lubbock — is on the market for $30 million.

Ranch ownership can also be financially rewarding. USDA data shows that in 2023, households running commercial farms had a median income of $167,550 from farming, with a total median household income of $253,496.

Mike Ledger, who cofounded Confluence Land Company, a Denver-based real-estate brokerage specializing in ranch and farm sales in Colorado, told the Denver Post that demand for ranches from those who might not even need them as a main source of income was high in 2024.

"Some call them 'recreational,' some call them 'legacy ranches,'" he said. "Many of these buyers may not even choose to recreate at all. They may just want to hold the land as an investment."

Last year, billionaire Joe Ricketts bought Granite Ranch in Jackson, Wyoming — last asking around $9 million — with plans to convert it into a luxury resort.

Cattle rancher Taylor Sheridan, the cocreator of "Yellowstone," has turned his properties into versatile investments. He hosts reining events, music festivals, and charity functions at his Bosque Ranch near Fort Worth. He also makes money when networks film on his properties, with The Wall Street Journal reporting he sought to charge Paramount $50,000 a week to film there.

3. Boomer owners are putting legacy ranches up for sale.

Some ranches are legacy properties passed down through generations. However, as younger family members move away to other places or pursue different careers, they are often sold to non-family buyers.

Between 2017 and 2022, the USDA found that the number of farmers age 35 to 64 dropped by 9% and the number of farmers 65 and older grew by 12%. The contrast highlights the aging population of farmers and ranchers and how younger generations may be moving away from agricultural professions.

"The generational shift is happening," Merritt said. "Plenty of properties are in long-steeped family traditions and have been in the family for five or more generations. Often, what happens is that the great-grandkids aren't as interested in ranching, so it just runs its course."

Take Lost Creek Ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which became the sole property of the Halpin family in 1989 (though they'd been involved in managing it since the 1960s). However, after the deaths of the family patriarch and matriarch, the 50-acre dude ranch was listed for $39.5 million and sold to the Gottwald family in 2024.

Also in 2024, another historic property, the 16,532-acre Antlers Ranch in Meeteetse, Wyoming, which had been owned by the May family since 1895, was listed for sale at $85 million.

Elfland said situations like this are common as baby boomers age and either have no family to inherit their land or to maintain it.

"That's a real dilemma for rural America," Elfland said. "Some farmers or ranchers with large holdings want to keep the land in the family, but it's often not economically viable for the next generation to maintain it. These properties are increasingly being sold to buyers who aren't multi-generational, hands-on farmers."

• LendingTree analyzed the US cities with the most homes valued at $1 million or more.
• Large and populous metros like San Jose, New York, and Miami top the list.
• The surplus of valuable properties in these cities is partly due to their limited housing supply.

Basic economics tells us that the scarcer something is, the more valuable it becomes — and housing is no exception.

As the nationwide housing shortage persists, demand continues to exceed supply, keeping home prices high for the foreseeable future. While homebuyers can take comfort in the fact that most cities still have mostly six-figure homes, the number of properties reaching or exceeding seven-figure values is steadily increasing.

To determine the US cities with the most million-dollar homes, the economic research team at LendingTree analyzed data from the Census Bureau's 2023 American Community Survey on the share of owner-occupied homes valued at $1 million or more — with or without a mortgage — in the 50 largest metropolitan areas.

The research team found that US cities with the most million-dollar homes are predominantly in California; the top four are San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Other high-value markets include New York, Seattle, and Washington DC.

These cities attract residents with thriving job markets, vibrant entertainment scenes, and a high perceived quality of life. However, many struggle with limited housing inventory, which greatly contributes to higher home prices.

"Steep prices are often felt the most in large metros, where roadblocks such as overly strict zoning laws can make new construction difficult and exacerbate supply issues," Jacob Channel, a senior economist at LendingTree, said.

In San Jose, ranked by LendingTree as the US city with the most million-dollar homes, single-family zoning laws and NIMBYism (Not In My Backyard) — where residents tend to oppose new development to preserve neighborhood character and property values — have long contributed to the city's housing shortage.

"Without more homes being built, San Jose and other cities will likely see home prices keep rising," Channel told Business Insider. While the average home price in the US is "unlikely to reach $1 million anytime soon," million-dollar properties will "become more and more common across the nation," he said.

He forecast that Salt Lake City may crack this list at some point and that Miami and Denver could move up the rankings.

"If things keep along their current course, we will see a heck of a lot more places where a million-dollar home is the norm," Channel added.

Below are the 10 US cities with the most million-dollar housing units, as defined by the census as a house, an apartment, a mobile home, or other types of housing.

10. Miami

• Number of owner-occupied housing units: 1,452,129
• Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 166,014
• Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 11.43%
• Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $474,000

9. Denver

• Number of owner-occupied housing units: 785,480
• Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 97,425
• Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 12.40%
• Median value of owner-occupied housing unit: $611,300

8. Washington

• Number of owner-occupied housing units: 1,530,307
• Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 214,807
• Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 14.04%
• Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $574,000

7. New York

• Number of owner-occupied housing units: 3,825,885
• Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 618,642
• Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 16.17%
• Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $610,200

6. Boston

• Number of owner-occupied housing units: 1,200,208
• Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 206,708
• Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 17.22%
• Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $646,600

5. Seattle

• Number of owner-occupied housing units: 974,123
• Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 252,908
• Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 25.96%
• Median value of owner-occupied housing unit: $712,200

4. San Diego

• Number of owner-occupied housing units: 643,311
• Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 224,035
• Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 34.83%
• Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $864,900

3. Los Angeles

• Number of owner-occupied housing units: 2,189,902
• Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 797,553
• Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 36.42%
• Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $867,200

2. San Francisco

• Number of owner-occupied housing units: 975,016
• Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 551,606
• Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 56.57%
• Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $1,105,100

1. San Jose

• Number of owner-occupied housing units: 374,116
• Number of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 267,751
• Percentage of owner-occupied units valued at $1 million or more: 71.57%
• Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $1,393,400

• MyCabin started building prefab homes for European customers from a base in Latvia in 2020. 
• Illinois-based PrefabPads licensed MyCabin's minimalist designs, making them available in the US.
• Take a look inside some of the units, which cost as little as $59,000 and can run up to $175,000.

MyCabin, a Latvia-based startup, began building and selling minimalist, Scandinavian-inspired tiny homes to European customers in 2020.

MyCabin founder Girts Draugs initially built a collection of tiny abodes for himself after he couldn't find a vacation home that lived up to his vision. He then began selling and distributing his designs in Europe and the US.

In 2022, the company licensed its designs for structures also called accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, to Illinois-based firm PrefabPads, which launched MyCabin US. The tiny home builder offers four unit options, ranging from a 132-square-foot sauna to a 682-square-foot home with two bedrooms and one bathroom.

Prices range from $59,000 to $175,000, but customization and upgrades can increase overall costs.

Clients pay for the ADU plans but are individually responsible for obtaining permits and hiring contractors for groundwork and installation. MyCabin US builds each unit at its factory in Waukegan, Illinois, outside Chicago, and then delivers it fully constructed to the customer.

As of January 2024, MyCabin US has delivered about 43 tiny homes to customers in Connecticut, New York, Maine, Utah, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

For many Americans, tiny homes are a sustainable, budget-friendly housing alternative or a way to generate extra income. As demand grows, many states have passed zoning laws to permit their construction, with some even offering incentives to encourage development.

"First and foremost, land is expensive, and mortgage rates are terrible, so people are trying to expand their property instead of moving to bigger footprints," Anisha Seltenright, chief marketing officer of MyCabin US, told Business Insider. She said new regulations in states like California and Colorado that make building ADUs easier have helped the company expand.

Take a look inside the factory where MyCabin US builds its homes as well as five of its tiny home options.

PrefabPads builds the MyCabin units — from the initial framing down to the smallest fixtures and finishes — in its Illinois factory.

Each tiny home is fully finished at the factory, with plumbing, electrical systems, appliances, and interior and exterior lighting installed.

The company can produce seven to 20 homes at a time in its factory, according to its website.

The architecture of each unit is intentionally modern and minimalist.

The units have many large windows designed to bring "the outdoors indoors," Peter Seltenright, the cofounder of PrefabPads, told BI.

The homes' siding is treated in the factory to extract sugars and moisture.

This process makes the homes more resistant to bugs and rot. Afterward, the walls are stained a sleek, dark color.

Whoever ordered the cabin names it — in this case, Heron — and PrefabPads creates a custom sign.

The company wraps the homes and puts them on trucks to transport them to their final destinations.

This is the Milla unit, a cozy studio.

The Milla has a joint living room, kitchen, and bathroom. It has 270 square feet of living space and 78 square feet of loft space. The initial deposit is $4,000, and the total cost is about $98,500.

This is the interior of a finished Milla home before it was trucked to a client's home in Connecticut.

Inside the Milla's front door is a living room with an open kitchen. A ladder leads to a loft space, where there is a sleeping area.

The lofted sleeping area is four feet tall and fits a mattress.

A view down to the living room from the lofted bedroom.

This is how another customer designed their Milla living room.

Milla's kitchen has black quartz countertops, frameless matte black cabinets, and a stainless steel sink. There is also an induction stovetop.

The bathroom also has matte black fixtures, which nicely contrast the white walls and lighter-colored floors.

The Milla Long is a one-bedroom version of the regular Milla, which is classified as a studio.

It is 528 square feet, and includes a bedroom, loft, full kitchen, living room, and bathroom.

The Milla Long is a very popular unit, said PrefabPads cofounder Anisha Seltenright.

It costs around $149,500 and requires a deposit between $4,500 and $5,500. The company said on its website that it can be built and shipped in two months

The Milla Long's bathroom is sleek and spacious.

This is a kitchen in a customer's installed Milla Long tiny home.

The Milla XL is a two-bedroom, one-bathroom version of the other two Milla designs.

This 682-square-foot tiny home requires an initial deposit of $5,500 and costs about $175,000.

The Galia home at the far right of this rendering is a tiny home-turned-sauna.

The private at-home spa is waterproof, featuring a tile floor and vapor barrier film. It requires an initial deposit of $2,500 and is priced at $37,500.

Anisha Seltenright said the Galia has become more popular with homeowners as wellness culture shapes home design.

"The Galia has a lot of interest," she said. "People love the idea of using it as an option for an Airbnb-style property."

The Kalmus is also a one-bedroom unit.

The 245-square-foot tiny home — which can serve as a guest house or office — features a dining area and a loft that can be used for sleeping or storage. A bathroom is optional for the Kalmus unit.

The initial deposit for the Kalmus is $3,000 without a bathroom, but $3,500 with one. The final price — excluding upgrades —  is about $59,000 without a bathroom or $67,000 with one.

Two customers have bought the Kalmus and put it in their backyards to use as an office, said Peter Seltenright.

This Kalmus model was shipped to Connecticut to be installed as a backyard office there.

The initial deposit for the Kalmus is $3,000 without a bathroom but $3,500 with one. The final price – excluding upgrades —  is about $59,000 without a bathroom or $67,000 with one.

The floors are made of luxury vinyl that doesn't scratch and is waterproof, Peter Seltenright said.

MyCabin also sells a $175,000 three-piece set, which includes the Milla, the Kalmus, and the Galia.

• The top scientist at real-estate firm CoreLogic lives in an LA area affected by the Palisades fire.
• Howard Botts said he chose his home's location carefully and added extra protections against fire.
• He said his home is safe but that big challenges lie ahead for his neighbors and other homeowners.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Howard Botts, chief scientist and executive leader of CoreLogic's science and analytics team, which studies the climate crisis and risks from natural disasters. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I live in the Rustic Canyon area of Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles — 20 miles west of downtown.

We've had fires in the community before, but usually, they get suppressed pretty quickly. The recent fires are an anomaly.

On the day it all started, I could see smoke and fire on the top of the Santa Monica Mountains in the city. The wind was blowing at 30 to 50 miles per hour. which I knew wasn't good because winds flow from the mountains to the ocean.

My wife and I began packing up essential things, getting ready to evacuate. We had no idea how fast that fire was going to spread. Within a couple of hours, much of our city was engulfed in flames.

We evacuated from our house, along with tens of thousands of residents from Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas.

Last Thursday, I was able to walk into Rustic Canyon. Miraculously, our house had no damage, but there's a lot of ash, debris, and smoke damage that will need extensive clean-up. We may have to remove the drywall and insulation if deep cleaning doesn't remove the campfire smell.

I live on the south side of Sunset Boulevard, just below Will Rogers State Park. Virtually all the homes on the north side of Sunset and above burned — including Billy Crystal's house and Will Rogers' historic home.

As you go up the hill from where I live, into the main part of the Palisades, it looks like the pictures you see of Hiroshima after the atomic bomb was dropped. Literally everything is gone, except for some fireplaces and metal staircases.

Palisades residents didn't anticipate the fires even though the area is high-risk

The Pacific Palisades is uniquely located between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Monica Mountains, which rise about 1,000 feet above the city — just a few miles from the coast. The mountains offer beautiful views but are also heavily covered with chaparral, making the area at high risk for wildfires.

I was very aware of this and avoided living in the hillside area.

A question I get a a lot is, "Why do people live in the Palisades, up in the hillside?"

I think it's a calculated risk. For some, the area's amenities outweigh the perceived risk.

The homes in the neighborhood range from $3 million to $64 million, so people living here have some level of assets and probably feel secure. The area is also unique in that, even though it's part of the city of LA, it has a small-town feel.

I think all of those things caused people to maybe downplay the wildfire risk. They thought nothing like this would ever happen.

The Palisades fire ignited for several reasons

You would never envision an entire community burning, but the wildfires were born from a perfect storm of events.

Increasing average temperatures put stress on vegetation in the mountains that hadn't burned in 30 years.

Extremely high wind speeds also played a major role. The winds carried embers a mile from the wildfire, blowtorching flames out of the mountains and into flat, more urban areas. In those areas, houses, fences, and vegetation were already burning well ahead of the fire's front.

There were also human-caused factors. Fire departments and responders ran out of water, so fire suppression that would normally occur on the ground ceased for a period.

Fires in this area are also typically attacked from the air with airplanes and helicopters. However, those aircraft were grounded due to the high winds, preventing the use of fire retardants and other aerial suppression methods.

I don't plan to leave the Palisades, but I've taken steps to protect my house and family

I absolutely plan to continue living in the Palisades.

As a scientist and a fourth-generation Californian, wildfire risk is always at the forefront of my mind. I've mitigated everything I could around my property, from installing double-paned windows and a fire-resistant roof.

My house is anchored in bedrock, so my earthquake risk is relatively low. Plus, I live high enough above the Pacific Ocean that I don't have to worry about sea level rise.

Conversely, it will take a decade for my community to return.

Many older homes likely had asbestos or lead, requiring major remediation efforts, including removing soil and other materials. This will prevent people from moving back in immediately.

Also, the stores, banks, post offices, and schools are all gone, so any sense of community closeness is lost.

It will be a long time before this area bounces back — that will be the real challenge.

Insurance costs could impact whether people who lost homes rebuild or move

The Palisades is relatively affluent. However, the areas affected by the Eaton fire have many more middle-class residents.

I think the fires will change the character of those neighborhoods, because the key question is, "Can residents afford to rebuild at the cost it will take?"

Building codes have changed, so homes being rebuilt will need to meet the latest standards, including indoor sprinklers for fire suppression and fireproof Class A roofs, which will increase both materials and costs.

Another question is, "Do residents have enough insurance coverage to make rebuilding possible?"

California definitely has an insurability problem at the moment.

In September, a major insurer did not renew my policy. The only fire insurance I could get was through the California FAIR Plan, the insurer of last resort. My overall homeowners premium increased from $2,800 a year to $12,800 a year for less coverage than I had previously.

With higher insurability costs, some of my neighbors are considering moving to lower-cost areas in other parts of California. I think we'll see this play out nationally as well.

Over the next 30 years, we'll likely see people moving to regions they've historically left, such as cities around the Great Lakes — Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit — where climate change impacts are expected to be more moderate.

Californians will also need to adjust how they build homes

A key question is how places like California can stay safe with rising temperatures.

We'll see more happening at the community level, where neighbors band together to clear vegetation around homes to reduce wildfire risk.

Additionally, there will be more pressure on individual homeowners to mitigate wildfire risk on their properties — such as avoiding wood fences, decks, and pergolas attached to the house.

We'll also see insurers incentivizing homeowners to make changes that reduce risk. For example, some neighbors were told they could lower their rates by removing pine or eucalyptus trees from their property.

Going forward, I think there will also be much greater investments in California's public safety, including making sure there is adequate water supply, fire suppression equipment, and other resources.

• Personal-finance company Wallethub has identified the best small cities in America. 
• It compared more than 1,321 cities across five key metrics, including affordability and quality of life.
• The list is dominated by cities in the Midwest, with Carmel, Indiana taking the top spot. 

Sky-high home prices and a limited supply of available homes in larger, more popular cities have driven many buyers to smaller towns, where they can enjoy a relatively more affordable cost of living and tighter-knit communities.

WalletHub has released an annual report ranking the best small cities in the US. The personal finance company compared more than 1,321 small US cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 across five key metrics: affordability, economic health, education and health, quality of life, and safety.

The Midwest region — with its strong manufacturing and agricultural roots — boasts the most cities on the list. At the top is Carmel, Indiana, a suburban town just 35 minutes north of Indianapolis, home to several wineries, vineyards, gardens, and walking trails.

"Having lived in Carmel for nearly a decade I can safely say that town is amazing," A resident wrote on neighborhood and school ranking website Niche. "The people are kind and there is always something to do down in the arts center. Having the Monon Trail running through the center of town means there are lots of opportunities to walk around and enjoy the community."

Here are the 20 best small cities in the US, as ranked by Wallethub. Business Insider has also included the median home sale price for each city as of November, sourced from Redfin, along with population data based from the latest available Census figures.

20. Arlington, Massachusetts

• Median housing cost: $1,100,000
• Population: 46,308

19. Needham, Massachusetts

• Median housing cost: $1,375,000
• Population: 32,091

18. Downers Grove, Illinois

• Median housing cost: $483,000
• Population: 49,706

17. Saratoga Springs, New York

• Median housing cost: $742,500
• Population: 28,544

16. Kaysville, Utah

• Median housing cost: $754,500
• Population: 32,941

15. Castle Rock, Colorado

• Median housing cost: $656,000
• Population: 81,415

14. Noblesville, Indiana

• Median housing cost: $394,500
• Population: 73,916

13. Leesburg, Virginia

• Median housing cost: $741,250
• Population: 49,312

12. Fair Lawn, New Jersey

• Median housing cost: $630,000
• Population: 35,564

11. Milton, Massachusetts

• Median housing cost: $1,025,000
• Population: 28,630

10. Westfield, Indiana

• Median housing cost: $421,000
• Population: 57,746
  

9. Bozeman, Montana

• Median housing cost: $685,000
• Population: 57,305

8. Lancaster, Pennsylvania

• Median housing cost: $236,000
• Population: 18,677

7. Brentwood, Tennessee

• Median housing cost: $1,200,000
• Population: 45,265

6. Apex, North Carolina

• Median housing cost: $660,000
• Population: 72,225

5. Appleton, Wisconsin

• Median housing cost: $260,000
• Population: 74,719

4. Fishers, Indiana

• Median housing cost: $415,000
• Population: 104,094

3. Lexington, Massachusetts

• Median housing cost: $1,600,000
• Population: 34,454

2. Brookfield, Wisconsin

• Median housing cost: $462,500
• Population: 41,884

1. Carmel, Indiana

• Median housing cost: $479,500
• Population: 102,296

• Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) have become a popular alternative to traditional homes and apartments.
• Three people who built and moved into ADUs shared with BI how they improved their lives.
• One person said moving into an ADU "was the best decision we ever made."

For newlyweds Aislyn and Ali Benjamin, purchasing a traditional home in Danville, California — a small city just over an hour's drive east of San Francisco — wasn't financially feasible.

It's easy to see why. Data from Realtor.com shows that the area's median home sale price is about $1.9 million as of December.

The Benjamins weren't keen on moving too far from Danville in search of a more affordable home, nor were they interested in renting long-term. So, they opted for another solution: building an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, in their parent's backyard.

Today, they live in a 1,200-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bathroom ADU in San Ramon, a city neighboring Danville. The home cost $500,000 to build, which the couple paid with their parents' help.

"This was the best decision we ever made," Ali Benjamin told Business Insider. "It allowed us to save so much money and live where we wanted."

ADUs are an affordable entry to homeownership

ADUs are compact housing units, typically 150 to 1,200 square feet, depending on location. On average, they cost between $100,000 and $300,000 to design and build, though additional expenses — such as site preparation, inspections, utility hookups, and permits — can drive up the total cost.

Thanks to their affordability and minimal land requirements, ADUs have become a popular alternative to traditional homes and apartments, particularly for first-time homeowners like the Benjamins, who navigated high home prices, mortgage rates, and a shortage of available homes.

To boost the supply of affordable housing, several states, including California, New York, and Vermont, have supported ADU construction by offering grant programs to help homeowners finance the building process.

In California, where most backyard homes are built, the state's Accessory Dwelling Unit Grant Program has provided grants of up to $40,000 to qualified homeowners — it's been instrumental in driving the growth of ADUs across the Golden State.

According to an April report from the Urban Institute, ADUs accounted for just 8% of permits and 5% of completions in California in 2018. By 2022, however, they represented 18% of total permits and production.

A couple built an ADU to give their adult son more independence

People build ADUs for various reasons, including generating income by renting out the ADU or their main home. Others build ADUs to create comfortable, semi-independent living spaces for aging parents or adult children who may need assistance or support.

Take Todd Kuchta, a 58-year-old engineer who built an ADU in his Napa, California, backyard for his 26-year-old son, Jacob, who has autism.

As Kuchta's son grew older, he desired more independence from his parents but still needed their help with daily tasks like cleaning, taking medication, and preparing meals.

Unable to afford a larger home or an assisted living facility for their son, Kuchta and his wife hired Bay Area-based ADU builder Villa to construct a 480-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bathroom tiny home on their property.

The ADU cost over $248,000 to build. The Kuchtas received financing through Napa County's Affordable ADU program, which provided a $63,000 forgivable loan. They also secured a $160,000 loan from a credit union as a second mortgage.

The new living arrangement has mutually benefited the Kucthas and their son.

"Jacob really enjoys living on his own — he's thriving," Kuchta told BI.

He added that he and his wife's "stress has significantly decreased, and they have peace of mind knowing they can still provide the emotional support he needs."

A woman built an ADU in her backyard to age in place

The growing trend of multiple generations living together, either under the same roof or on the same property, has fueled the rise of "granny pods" — small outbuildings designed to provide support while allowing older adults to age in place and maintain their independence.

Struggling with the stairs in her two-story home, 72-year-old Wilder-Abrams moved into a 560-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bathroom granny pod in her backyard in 2022.

Meanwhile, her 34-year-old daughter moved into the home she had lived in for 35 years — a 2,000-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bathroom home — with her 3-year-old daughter.

"I was ready to downsize and have a smaller place to live and take care of," Wilder-Abrams told BI. "The home is in an urban area, so there are a lot of possibilities for my daughter, too."

The ADU cost $350,000 to build. Wilder-Abrams secured a second mortgage on her home to finance the construction, as the original mortgage had been paid off years ago. Her daughter now pays $1,500 monthly rent, covering the new mortgage payment.

Beyond the financial benefits, home swapping has provided Wilder-Abrams with valuable physical and emotional support. She said having her daughter nearby was crucial to her recovery after knee surgery last year.

"The first few days, she stayed with me to change the ice packs regularly," Wilder-Abrams said. "It was so convenient for both of us."

• Zillow has released its forecast for the hottest housing markets of 2025.
• The metros are spread across the Northeast, Great Lakes, South, Midwest, and West regions.
• Buffalo, New York, is projected to be the hottest market in 2025, followed by Indiana.

High home prices, rising mortgage rates, and inflation have sharply reduced buyer demand in the US real estate market, leading to a slowdown in home sales over the past few years — even in previously booming areas like Austin and the Bay Area.

Brighter days may be ahead.

Several forecasts point toward an increase in homebuying this year.

Some areas are poised to see more action than others. Zillow has forecasted 10 metros where homebuyer competition will be the fiercest, taking into account factors like price growth, new construction, and job growth in each area.

Buffalo earned the title of Zillow's hottest market for the second year in a row. Located on Lake Erie and somewhat close to Niagara Falls, the metro has become an appealing choice for buyers thanks to its relatively affordable homes and strong job market, according to Zillow.

"Common threads among 2025's hottest markets are affordability — or at least relative affordability compared to nearby markets — and inventory shortages that have not been able to keep up with demand," Anushna Prakash, a data scientist at Zillow, told Business Insider. "An inventory shortfall of course limits sales, but it also means competition for each home on the market is ratcheted up."

Here are 10 metro areas forecast to see the most homebuying competition in 2025, according to Zillow.

10. Salt Lake City, Utah

• Median home price: $543,324
• Home value growth forecast: 2.3%
• Jobs per new home permitted: 0.5

9. Richmond, Virginia

• Median home price: $368,957
• Home value growth forecast: 2.9%
• Jobs per new home permitted: -0.1

8. Kansas City, Missouri

• Median home price: $299,118
• Home value growth forecast: 2.7%
• Jobs per new home permitted: 0.2

7. Charlotte, North Carolina

• Median home price: $377,450
• Home value growth forecast: 3.2 %
• Jobs per new home permitted: 0.5

6. St. Louis, Missouri

• Median home price: $250,141
• Home value growth forecast: 1.9%
• Jobs per new home permitted: 1.3

5. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Median home price: $362,744
• Home value growth forecast: 2.6%
• Jobs per new home permitted: 1.5

4. Hartford, Connecticut

• Median home price: $363,298
• Home value growth forecast: 4.2%
• Jobs per new home permitted: 1.1

3. Providence, Rhode Island

• Median home price: $484,019
• Home value growth forecast: 3.7%
• Jobs per new home permitted: 1.3

2. Indianapolis, Indiana

• Median home price: $275,639
• Home value growth forecast: 3.4%
• Jobs per new home permitted: 0.5

1. Buffalo, New York

• Median home price: $260,537
• Home value growth forecast: 2.8 %
• Jobs per new home permitted: 2

• Building tiny backyard homes can be expensive. The units can range in cost — from under $100,000 to over $300,000. 
• Three states will help with the cost by providing homeowners with grant money. 
• Here are the programs, how much homeowners can receive, and who is eligible to apply. 

If you've looked into building a tiny home in your backyard, you've probably discovered what many have: While they may save you money in the long run, they can be expensive to build.

These backyard homes, called accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, are small housing units ranging from 150 square feet to 1,200 square feet, depending on where you live.

The average cost of a unit can range from $100,000 to $300,000, not to mention the cost of the permit, and it can be difficult to get a loan to build an ADU.

In California, where most backyard homes are being built, ADU building permits cost anywhere from $450 to $15,000 — even before construction starts, Backyard Unlimited, a company that builds ADUs, said.

That's not all: Other costs could include site preparation, which includes anything from inspections to running utility lines. 

All this to say, if you don't have cash lying around or the ability to access financing for the project, it can be cost prohibitive — making it harder for middle- and low-income homeowners to actually build one, studies have shown.

To combat this disparity, promote equity, and ultimately propel the construction of much-needed housing, some states — and nonprofits in some cities — have created grant programs to help.

The deadlines for these programs vary from state to state. Those interested in building an ADU should be prepared for next year's application cycles, as they often experience high demand.

Here are the ADU programs available nationwide.

California: Up to $40,000 per grantee

The funding for 2024 has already been allocated. The state previously provided $40,000 to Californians for pre-construction ADU costs, such as design, permitting, and soil inspections. In 2024, several legal changes were made regarding ADU size, owner occupancy requirements, and more.

Who can apply? Californians that fall in the range of low- to moderate-income limits.

Total funding available: $100 million was allocated in 2021, but by 2023, the money had been fully distributed. The program's funds were infused with $25 million in grant funding for 2023 to 2024, but those have also been fully allocated.

When are applications open? The program is no longer accepting applications for 2024, and applications for 2025 have not yet been announced.

Requirements:

• Homeowners do not need to live in the primary home or the ADU they build.
• For single-family lots, you can be approved for one ADU (attached or detached) up to 1,200 square feet and one Junior ADU up to 500 square feet.
• For multi-family lots, you can build multiple ADUs attached to existing structures and up to two detached ADUs on the property.
• Homeowners can build an ADU at least 800 square feet, up to 16 feet high, and must be set back 4 feet from side and rear yards.

Agency or Department in charge of distribution: California Housing Finance Agency

New York: Up to $125,000 per grantee

The Plus One ADU Program provides eligible New Yorkers up to $125,000 to build or convert an ADU on their property.

In 2024, as part of Mayor Eric Adams's 'City of Yes' housing initiative, New York State legalized permitting ADUs on one- and two-family residential properties in low-density housing districts. However, whether a locality in New York allows ADUs depends on its land use and zoning regulations.

Who can apply? Homeowners who meet the income requirement of 100% or below the area median income.

Total funding available: The 2022-2023 NYS Capital Budget provided $85 million for the Plus One ADU Program over the next five years. Of the total, $60 million has been distributed across 50 municipalities, with the remaining $25 million available through a competitive RFP.

When are applications open? There are 50 participating localities, all accepting homeowner applications on a rolling basis.

Requirements:

• The ADU can be within the existing home, such as a basement or attic apartment, an in-law suite, or a completely independent and detached structure.
• A 10-year restrictive covenant is in place to ensure the home remains the owner's primary residence and that the ADU is kept in a livable condition.
• The ADU must be occupied by a tenant or a family member, and it cannot be rented out short term.

Agency or Department in charge of distribution: New York State's Homes and Community Renewal

Vermont: Up to $50,000 per grantee

This program allows Vermonters to receive up to $50,000 to build an ADU on their property. Both landlords and owner-occupied homes with plans to rent are eligible.

Who can apply? Any Vermont homeowner can apply through these five regional organizations: RuralEdge, Champlain Housing Trust, NeighborWorks of Western Vermont, Downstreet Housing and Community Development, and Windham and Windsor Housing Trust. These organizations review applications and oversee projects.

Total funding available: As of 2023, Vermont had a $15 million budget.

When are applications open? Open now, on a rolling basis.

Requirements:

• Those who receive a grant must abide by certain stipulations, such as complying with local ordinances, maintaining HUD Fair Market rent, and matching at least 20% of the grant funds.
• The project must be completed within 18 months of signing the grant agreement.
• Those using their ADU as a rental must sign a rental covenant or forgivable loan agreement, committing to charge rent at or below Fair Market Rent for the entire duration of the agreement.

Agency or Department in charge of distribution: Vermont Housing Improvement Program

Colorado: A new grant program still rolling out

In 2024, Colorado passed HB24-1152 to assist homeowners in building ADUs.

Who can apply? The Accessory Dwelling Unit Fee Reduction and Encouragement Grant Program will offer down payment assistance, low-interest loans, and interest rate reductions to eligible low—and moderate-income Coloradans building ADUs.

Total funding available: The General Assembly allocated $5 million for the program. Currently, grants are available to "accessory dwelling unit supportive jurisdictions," meaning local governments actively supporting ADU development. The Department of Local Affairs will manage the grant program created by the bill.

When are applications open? It has not yet been announced when applications will open to local governments or residents.

Requirements: The qualification requirements are still being finalized.

Agency or Department in charge of distribution: The Department of Local Affairs, Division of Local Government

Have you built an ADU on your property? We want to hear from you. Email the reporter, Alcynna Lloyd, at [email protected] to share your story.

• Billionaires Darwin Deason, Michael Dell, and Tony Pritzker are trying to offload homes right now.
• Their properties for sale range from a $31 million penthouse in Boston to a $195 million LA estate.
• It can take a long time for extremely expensive or unique homes to find buyers.

Billionaires regularly want to offload their homes, but the housing market can present some unique challenges for the wealthiest home sellers.

Buyers at high price points don't always love properties customized for the previous owner, and the additional cost of maintenance and upkeep can deter even the deepest pockets. Some people struggling to rid themselves of luxurious properties end up slashing their asking prices. Others forego selling them altogether, choosing to either auction them off or rent them out instead.

At least two billionaires have found buyers for their homes this fall.

Gordon Getty, heir to the Getty fortune, found a buyer for his home near Berkeley, outside San Francisco, in less than a month. The 3,991-square-foot house, nicknamed the Temple of Wings, features Corinthian columns and luscious greenery, sold for $5.85 million in September after listing for $5 million in August.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch's three-story, nearly 7,000-square-foot penthouse in Manhattan went into contract on October 10 after more than two years on the market, according to its listing. The former chair of Fox Corporation and News Corp. purchased it for $57.9 million in 2014. In 2022, he listed it for $62 million but dropped the price as low as $28.5 million — a 50% decrease.

A handful of billionaires, however, have homes they're still trying to sell.

Here's a roundup of billionaire-owned properties from Boston to California on the market as of January 6. They are presented in order of last name.

Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen listed his Bay Area mansion for $33 million in March 2024.

Earlier this year, tech investor Marc Andreessen and his wife Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen listed their $33 million Bay Area mansion.

Touted as ideal for hosts of events and parties, the five-bedroom, four-bathroom home has seven fireplaces, two separate kitchens ready for catering, and custom built-ins throughout to display art. It is located in Atherton, California, near Palo Alto and Stanford, and across the street from the Menlo Circus Club, an exclusive social club.

The Andreessens may not be leaving California altogether, however. The couple has purchased over $250 million worth of real estate in Malibu, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Of the three homes they have acquired over two years in the coastal enclave northeast of LA, the most expensive is a $177 million, seven-acre estate in Malibu's Paradise Cove neighborhood. Known for its picturesque shores that locals fiercely guard, Paradise Cove was once dubbed "the most unfriendly-to-the-public public beach in Southern California," according to San Francisco publication SFGate.

Andreessen's net worth as of January is $1.9 billion, according to Forbes.

Tech mogul Darwin Deason is parting ways with his Versailles-inspired estate in California.

Tech billionaire Darwin Deason has put his oceanfront estate in La Jolla, California, nicknamed the Sand Castle, on the market for an impressive $108 million.

Deason, who sold his IT and business process outsourcing company Affiliated Computer Services to Xerox for $6.4 billion in 2009, initially spent about $26 million on the house and an adjacent parcel of land, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Over about six years, Deason poured an additional $60 million into transforming the property into a breathtaking 13,000-square-foot mansion, drawing inspiration from Versailles and the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, a five-star retreat for celebrities in the South of France.

The estate includes a seven-bedroom main house and a three-bedroom guest house, with 14 full bathrooms and three half-bathrooms. It also features a pool, two cabanas, a fitness center, and an elevated, private beach with sand Deason imported from the Augusta, Georgia, golf course where the famed Masters tournament is played.

If the property sells even near its listing price, it will more than double the San Diego County record of $44.1 million set by billionaire Egon Durban in 2023.

Deason is worth $1.3 billion as of January, according to Forbes.

Michael Dell is trying to offload not one but two luxury penthouses in Boston.

Dell Technologies Chairman and CEO Michael Dell is no stranger to eye-popping real estate.

In 2015, he was the buyer of what was then the most expensive home ever sold in New York City, a $100 million penthouse overlooking Central Park on West 57th Street, aka Billionaires' Row. He raised his kids in a sprawling 33,000-square-foot Austin compound dubbed "The Castle" that featured both indoor and outdoor pools.

As of January, Dell's net worth was $119.6 billion, according to Forbes.

Now Dell is looking to unload two Boston properties he bought in 2020.

The first is a penthouse in Boston's tallest residential tower, One Dalton, which is one of the Four Seasons' private residences. The ultra-luxe home comes complete with 24-hour white-glove concierge service and a 570-square-foot private balcony. Originally listed at $34 million, the price has been reduced to $31 million as of October.

Dell's second Boston property for sale is a $9.45 million penthouse on the 54th floor of Boston's Millennium Tower, located just steps from the iconic Boston Commons park. This property features floor-to-ceiling windows with panoramic views of the city and the Charles River.

Hedge fund manager and billionaire Ken Griffin is exiting Chicago by selling his multiple condos

Ken Griffin, who founded Citadel, a hedge fund that manages $92.46 billion in total assets as of September 2023, is offloading a few condos in Chicago.

Griffin famously relocated his managing firm to Florida in 2022. He also set himself up pretty nicely by spending about $169 million on properties in one neighborhood between 2020 and 2023. He also bought two bay front houses in Coconut Grove in 2022.

He's seemingly all in on Florida, but still has some loose ends to clean up in the Midwest.

Griffin bought a Chicago penthouse and three other units for $59 million in 2017 in what is still the city's biggest real-estate deal.

Records show he bought the top two floors, totaling about 15,000 square feet, for $34 million. The units are the top two floors of the No. 9 Walton building and are unfinished. Griffin has never lived in them.

In November, he sold those units for $19 million, taking a 44% loss on the sale. He's not quite yet done as the other two units he owns are still for sale.

According to Forbes, Griffin's net worth is $45.9 billion as of January.

Joe Lacob, who owns the Golden State Warriors, put his Malibu mansion on the market in August.

The owner of the Golden State Warriors basketball team, Joe Lacob, once claimed to be one of the best blackjack players in the world, winning $1 million in one sitting at least nine times.

Lacob must be hoping his luck hasn't run out as he tries to sell his Malibu mansion for $44 million.

The home on Carbon Beach has five bedrooms across about 5,500 square feet. It allows for indoor-outdoor living, with open balconies throughout to enjoy California's balmy climate.

It also has Hollywood-glam touches like a waterfall wall, a movie theater, and a glass-enclosed gym.

The third level is a prime entertaining space, complete with a barbecue island, a fire pit, a lounge area, and a hot tub.

Lacob does have a history of good bets. In 2010, he and other investors purchased the Golden State Warriors for $450 million. In July, the New York Post estimated the franchise's value to be $5.4 billion.

Lacob, a former venture capital investor, is worth $2.1 billion as of January, according to Forbes.

Hyatt Hotels heir Tony Pritzker is selling his enormous Los Angeles home after a bitter divorce.

Tony Pritzker, chairman and CEO of Pritzker Private Capital, built one of the country's largest and most luxurious homes.

Pritzker and his former wife Jeanne spent six years constructing a 50,000-square-foot megamansion in the hills of Beverly Crest, an upscale neighborhood in Los Angeles' Westside.

After their contentious divorce earlier this year, the home landed on the market in October for a staggering $195 million.

The estate has 16 bedrooms and 27 bathrooms over six acres. Amenities include a tennis court, a basketball court, a cliffside pool, a detached guest house, a bowling alley, and a private movie theater. The house's perch also offers stunning 180-degree views of the Los Angeles skyline.

The Wall Street Journal reported that if the Pritzker estate sells for its asking price of $195 million, it will set a record for the most expensive home sold in Los Angeles. This record is currently held by Jeff Bezos, who spent $165 million on the Warner Estate, located 1.4 miles away, in 2020.

According to Forbes, Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune, has a net worth of $4.1 billion as of January.

• Real-estate tech startups aim to make tasks from property management to homebuying more efficient.
• We surveyed 10 venture capitalists to identify the hottest proptech companies of the year.
• Some of the firms are modernizing real estate by digitizing analog processes, sometimes using AI.

The frozen housing market meant tough times for the proptech — or property technology — industry.

As the market starts to thaw, however, things are looking up for firms that seek to use technology to digitize, automate, or otherwise improve legacy processes in the worlds of residential and commercial real estate.

Business Insider asked 10 venture-capital investors who focus on real-estate and construction technology to nominate the most exciting, promising, and talked-about proptech startups in 2024.

The 20 companies on the final list reveal the breadth of the proptech universe.

Take Steadily, a firm trying to digitize insurance underwriting for real-estate investors, a process that has historically taken a lot of paperwork and time — only to result in policies with steep premiums. Another startup, Arcol, aims to make producing 3D architectural drawings faster and easier. A third, Conservation Labs, uses an AI-powered sensor to detect if water is leaking or being wasted in a building to prevent damage and protect the environment.

In the first half of 2024, venture funding for proptech companies dropped 14.3% from the same period a year prior. Funding totaled $4.37 billion, down from $5.1 billion during the same period in 2023 and dramatically less than the $13.13 billion invested in the first six months of 2022, according to the Center for Real Estate Technology & Innovation (CRETI), which surveyed 1,088 proptech startups.

Certain niches, however, hold promise. In 2024, VC investments in AI-powered proptech companies reached a record $3.2 billion, CRETI reported earlier this month.

Here are 20 of the buzziest proptech companies in 2024, presented alphabetically. The companies' fundraising numbers are from PitchBook to ensure a consistent data source.

Did we miss a company you think is disrupting the industry? Send reporter Jordan Pandy an email at [email protected].

Agora

City: New York City and Tel Aviv

Year founded: 2019

Total funding: $64.31 million

What it does: Agora is a financial software firm that helps real-estate investors process payments, keep track of tax records, raise money, and generally organize data.

Why it's hot: The firm, which raised a $34 million Series B round in May, said it helps landlords and developers with much-needed modernization.

"Real estate is the largest asset class in the world. However, the market still relies on legacy software providers, inefficient workflows, outdated, fragmented systems, and manual, tedious work," Asaf Raz, Agora's head of marketing, told Business Insider.

"Investors expect a digital-first experience — they're tech-savvy and need access to information quickly. Firms can't work without it, and clients need a platform like Agora more than ever," Raz said.

A challenge it faces: Real-estate investors are still grappling with relatively high interest rates, which makes it harder to borrow money and scale up, and the relatively high price of materials, which makes it tougher to renovate or upgrade properties. Those market forces could make customers more reluctant to spend money on new software.

Agora CEO Bar Mor told business news site Pulse 2.0 earlier this month, however, that Agora might still appeal to customers because its suite of products could help them "enhance efficiency and save costs."

Arcol

City: New York

Year founded: 2021

Total funding: $5.1 million

What it does: Arcol is a web browser-based design tool predominantly used by architects to create and collaborate on 3D models of buildings and explore their feasibility.

Why it's hot: Architects — Arcol's target audience — have traditionally relied on software design tools like AutoCAD and Revit, which require paid licenses and aren't as collaborative. Arcol has set out to solve that issue with a browser-based format easily shared and edited by anyone involved in a building project.

"These people are core to our society; they're literally building the built world, yet they hate using their tools," said Paul O'Carroll, the son of an architect and founder of Arcol. "The design tool we use to design buildings, we want to rethink for the browser to be collaborative and to be performant."

So far, demand is high. Arcol, run by a team of six, has a waitlist of over 18,000 users, O'Carroll said.

A challenge it faces: There are several other startups in the BIM, or Business Information Modeling, space. Competing with established players like Revit could take a lot of time and money, according to AEC Magazine. (AEC stands for architecture, engineering, and construction.)

Also, Arcol is currently only useful to architects during the conceptual modeling phase, and the company hopes to expand the tool to help with other stages of construction.

Branch Furniture

City: New York City

Year founded: 2018

Total funding: $11.76 million

What it does: Branch Furniture sells office products, like chairs and desks, to businesses and directly to consumers.

Why it's hot: The company's first iteration sold office furniture the old way: B2B, catering to employers outfitting a huge space who would often purchase items in bulk. After the pandemic changed how (and how often) workers occupied offices, Branch pivoted to sell to regular people — wherever they work.

"We launched our D2C business to cater to the future of work, which was definitively hybrid, both during COVID and after — and that's where we sit today," Sib Mahapatra, cofounder of Branch Furniture, told Business Insider.

Branch's ergonomic chair is a bestseller with a 4.6 rating out of five with over 6,000 reviews — it's rated among the best in its category by Business Insider, Architectural Digest, and Wired for its adjustability and sleek design.

In addition to desk chairs — in colors that range from a standard black to salmon-y orange hue called "poppy," the company also sells desks and lamps to outfit a home office. Its inventory includes meeting tables and even phone booths ($6,395) for more commercial office spaces.

A challenge it faces: Branch's products are physical, so it's been plagued by supply-chain delays. Branch is also up against competitors in the good-looking-furniture-that-is-also-comfortable arena, including Herman Miller and Steelcase — though Branch's offerings are often cheaper.

The company is also gaining ground regarding velocity, or the speed at which new products are developed and released.

"We're learning a lot about the pace of iteration in our product category," Mahapatra said. "It's definitely not software, but the benefit is that you get more time to really get things right and to iterate with purpose, and you end up being a little bit more deliberate about how you iterate the product — it just takes longer."

BuildCasa

City: Oakland, California

Year founded: 2022

Total funding: $6.67 million

What it does: BuildCasa helps California homeowners subdivide their lots — thanks to new state laws — and then connects them with local builders who pay the homeowners for a portion of their land and then build new housing on it.

Why it's hot: The national housing crisis is particularly acute in California, which recently passed a series of laws to encourage more building. While others look to transform construction to make cheaper housing, BuildCasa uses technology instead to find more buildable lots in desirable locations like San Francisco and San Jose.

Most massive home-building companies focus on large, master-planned communities, often far from city centers. BuildCasa's vision, said its founders Ben Bear, CEO, and Paul Stiedl, CPO, is to become a large homebuilder focused instead on finding land in already desirable cities and suburbs.

The company works with homeowners to subdivide their land, creating a new, buildable lot. Those lots can then be sold to a local real-estate developer to build on, or BuildCasa can work in partnership with a local builder to erect and then sell a completed home.

A challenge it faces: New laws have simplified the process of subdividing lots, but building in infill areas still requires technical expertise and good relationships with local officials. Building on these smaller lots may be becoming easier, but it still isn't easy.

Conservation Labs

City: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Year founded: 2018

Total funding: $14.68 million

What it does: Conservation Labs developed a smart water sensor that can identify leaks and wasteful water use. The H2know sensor uses machine learning to decode sounds in water pipes and translate them into insights for commercial property owners, including restaurants and hotels.

Why it's hot: The startup is at the intersection of two buzzy topics: AI and sustainability. H2know trains on thousands of hours of water pipe acoustics so that, over time, it becomes more accurate in detecting leaks and inefficient water use in buildings. Customers use that information to fix problems and conserve water, saving them money on utility bills while lowering their overall carbon footprint. Some 20% of home energy use goes to heating water.

"There's a very strong relationship between net-zero carbon emissions and water consumption," said Mark Kovscek, founder and CEO of Conservation Labs.

He added that H2know has detected leaky toilets in nearly every building in which it's installed. Some large properties are wasting 1 million gallons of water a year, he said.

A challenge it faces: H2know starts at $129, and it could be hard to convince cash-strapped commercial real estate owners to spend money to install sensors when the office market is struggling in many parts of the US.

Kovscek said the goal is to scale up to 100,000 sensors installed as soon as possible, or five times what Conservation Labs is currently on track to sell this year. To support that growth, the company needs to hire some of the "best and brightest" data scientists and engineers to further develop the machine-learning platform that underpins H2know, Kovscek said.

Constrafor

City: New York

Year founded: 2019

Total funding: Almost $380 million

What it does: Large general contractors use Constrafor's software to onboard and pay their subcontractors on time — sometimes before the contractors themselves get paid by the clients. Contractors can also use the software to help purchase the supplies and services needed to complete a construction project on time and within budget.

Why it's hot: There's the money raised. In November, Constrafor announced that it raised $14 million in Series A funding as well as a $250 million credit facility.

The issues the firm is trying to address are also key. Construction is booming across the US, thanks in part to President Joe Biden's $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. The rise of AI is also leading to a corresponding increase in the construction of data centers.

The actual process of construction, however, can often be long and complicated. That's why Constrafor's role as a one-stop shop appeals to large general contractors.

"So far, everyone has been focused on just building a very, very small point solution," said Anwar Ghauche, Constrafor's founder. "We're combining multiple different workflows, multiple different departments, all on the same platform."

The main challenges it faces: Next up: Constrafor must try to convince subcontractors to subscribe and pay for its software, too.

Gauch added that Constrafor's contractor clients can face cash-flow crunches. Those can lead to delays on important projects.

After Hurricanes Helene and Milton severely damaged parts of Florida, North Carolina, and other parts of the Southeast, Constrafor launched a disaster relief effort that would allow local contractors who are part of rebuilding efforts "to overcome delays, purchase materials, and ensure timely payment for their teams."

Ease Capital

City: New York

Year founded: 2022

Total funding: $13.95 million

What it does: Ease Capital helps private equity firms and large investors lend to smaller apartment landlords. It uses data and technology that allow the biggest players to lend $5 million to $50 million in deals that would typically be too small for them.

Why it's hot: Sophisticated private lenders usually focus on the largest apartment complexes, meaning that most apartment-building owners have to turn to banks and agencies to borrow money to purchase or refinance properties. However, current high rates have dramatically slowed bank and agency lending and the large private lenders usually won't lend for small—and medium-sized projects.

Ease uses data and technology to make it easier and more efficient for these large lenders to lend on smaller deals when the need is the highest. In 2023, the company announced a $450 million partnership with major real estate owner and asset manager Taconic Capital Partners, and has already announced multiple successfully originated loans.

CEO Charlie Oshamn told Business Insider earlier this year that the company is often seeing up to $1 billion in loan requests a month. Unlike other firms, which provide an estimated rate upfront that could potentially change over months of negotiation, Ease Capital sticks to its initial offering, eliminating the guessing game for potential clients.

A challenge it faces: Though the founding team has successfully launched other major proptech businesses, like flexible office and event space provider Convene and real-estate data firm Reonomy, it still needs to prove itself as a lender.

Habi

City: Colombia and Mexico

Year founded: 2019

Total funding: $564 million

What it does: Habi has built Latin America's largest proprietary database and utilizes AI-based pricing algorithms to facilitate transactions and financing for homebuyers and sellers. Habi also buys and sells homes, offers mortgages, and posts and publicizes listings of properties for sale.

Why it's hot: The company operates in Colombia and Mexico without centralized MLS. MLS, or multiple listing services, are databases designed to help real estate brokers identify available homes for sale. These systems are abundant in the US, whereas they are scarce in Latin America. Without an MLS, it means homebuyers and sellers in Colombia and Mexico have difficulty knowing which properties are available for sale, their prices, and their listing and pricing history.

By gathering and sharing information on more than 20 million homes, Habi has addressed a critical need in these countries' real estate sector, establishing itself as an authority on housing in the region.

"We've become a household name for low and middle-income sellers and consumers and brokers in Mexico and Colombia," Brynne McNulty Rojas, CEO and cofounder of Habi, told Business Insider.

A challenge it faces: A combination of factors, including shifting economic and political conditions, has stalled the growth of Latin America's real-estate market. To achieve the same level of ubiquity as Zillow in the US, Habi must get real-estate brokers and sellers to list their properties on its platform and entice buyers to use it.

HoneyHomes

City: Lafayette, California

Year founded: 2021

Total funding: $21.35 million

What it does: Founder Vishwas Prabhakara envisions Honey Homes as a "primary care physician for your home." For a monthly fee, a dedicated handyman will come once or twice a month to knock off "lightweight" home improvement projects like fixing a leaky faucet, installing a new ceiling fan, or repainting a room.

Why it's hot: With a cooling housing market, Prabhakara believes many homeowners are staying in their homes longer and interested in investing resources in — and enjoying — the property they currently have.

The main challenge it faces: Homeowners who already hire their preferred handymen may not be willing to pay for a service that sends new people, and bigger projects might require more specialized repair professionals. Then there's the cost and current smaller scale of the company: Subscriptions start from $295 a month, or $3,940 a year, according to the company website. The service is only available in parts of San Francisco and the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Orange County, and Dallas, according to the site.

Impulse Labs

City: San Francisco

Year founded: 2021

Total funding: $25 million

What it does: Impulse Labs made a battery-powered induction cooktop that, unlike most of its competitors, which may require an electrical upgrade, can plug into a standard 120-volt outlet. The cooktop can boil water at lightning speeds, and sensors hold heat levels steady even at high temperatures.

Why it's hot: Impulse Labs founder Sam D'Amico said the cooktop offers a better cooking experience than gas burners while promoting more climate-friendly homes. Cooking with gas emits pollutants like methane, benzene, and carbon monoxide, which harm our health and the planet. But it can cost thousands of dollars to rewire a home for an electric induction stove. Impulse Labs' induction cooktop avoids those pollutants and the cost of home retrofits.

The battery in Impulse Labs' stove also stores enough power to make three meals if the power goes out, D'Amico said.

"One of the cheapest ways to deploy battery storage is in the appliances we have to buy anyways," he added.

The main challenge it faces: The cooktop costs $5,999. The price is high, D'Amico said, but similar to other premium appliances. The price is lower if buyers qualify for tax breaks and rebates from federal and state governments, as well as some utilities. It's also only a cooktop — not a full stove — but D'Amico said the company eventually wants to sell a suite of appliances that can be a whole-home battery solution. Impulse Labs is accepting pre-orders, with plans to ship in the first quarter of 2025, according to its website.

Keyway

City: New York City

Year founded: 2020

Total funding: $43 million

What it does: Keyway uses machine learning and AI to aid institutional investors in sourcing, underwriting, and managing portfolios of properties.

Why it's hot: Companies that use AI have become commonplace today, but Keyway believes it is ahead of the pack in adopting and applying AI technology to real-estate investing.

"We were very early on in the AI game in 2020, and I think we've built a really strong backend of data with lots of APIs that allows us to integrate very segregated data very fast," CEO and cofounder Matias Recchia told Business Insider. "The fact that we built our system in a modular way also allows us to customize our product to a lot of our customers — so it's really not one solution fits all."

The main challenge it faces: New technology like Keyway can be hard to push on seasoned real-estate investors as they're used to using old-school methods like manually sourcing, underwriting, and managing portfolios.

"We're merging two cultures that are very different," Recchia said. "The real-estate industry requires a lot of proof to show them that data can really help them make better decisions. So there's a little bit of a culture shift that we're bringing to real estate as we sell them these tools and we partner with them."

Latii

City: Brooklyn, New York

Year founded: 2023

Total funding: $8.82 million

What it does: Latii is a sourcing platform that uses AI-powered tools to help North American-based architects and contractors save up to 60% by connecting with Latin American, southern European, and northern African window and door fabricators.

Why it's hot: Architects often include custom windows and doors in their designs, but hiring contractors and craftspeople overseas can cost their property-owning clients thousands of dollars. The architects who work with Latii, however, can source materials faster and at lower costs, cofounder and CEO Santiago Bueno told Business Insider.

"We're able to produce either equal or higher quality products at a less expensive rate," Bueno said.

In October, Latti announced that it had raised $5 million in seed-round funding, which it will use to expand in the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, and the New York tri-state area.

The main challenge it faces: When working with fabricators in Latin America, challenges can arise in managing certifications, enforcing warranties, and overcoming language barriers. The region's use of the metric system can also be difficult for North America-based architects to navigate.

Lessen

City: Scottsdale, Arizona

Year founded: 2020

Total funding: $713.8 million

What it does: Lessen's software allows commercial and residential landlords to track maintenance needs, connect with service providers, and buy products.

Why it's hot: In August, Inc. magazine named Lessen the fastest-growing private software company in the US, citing its $1.1 billion valuation.

The valuation preceded a major acquisition in 2023: Lessen spent $950 million to buy property maintenance management firm SMS Assist in what the Commercial Observer called the largest proptech acquisition in history.

Lessen's software is widely used, handling 3 million work orders a year across 250,000 properties, according to Fifth Wall, an investor in the firm. Lessen also launched Lessen Advantage Marketplace, which allows its landlord customers to buy materials like glass, floors, and doors and find better insurance and loan rates.

The main challenge it faces: Like many real-estate firms, Lessen faces an overall slowdown in both the commercial and residential sectors, with mortgage rates remaining elevated. One big potential client base for Lessen is office building owners and property managers, but the office market right now is struggling, with vacancies around the US at record highs.

"We typically grow hand-in-hand with our clients, serving them in additional properties and markets as they expand. So, for example, interest rates can influence growth in some areas of our business," said Michael Tanner, senior vice president of marketing at Lessen.

A dearth of tradespeople is also a challenge for the company's platform that connects them to landlords, Tanner said.

Finally, the firm competes in a crowded market of competitors offering software for landlords, including Stessa, AppFolio, TenantCloud, and more.

Metropolis

City: Santa Monica

Year founded: 2017

Total funding raised by the company: $1.93 billion

What it does: Metropolis uses a computer vision platform powered by artificial intelligence to enable checkout-free payment at parking facilities. After registering their vehicles on the Metropolis app, customers can simply drive in and drive out without the hassle of paying with credit cards or ticket machines.

Why it's hot: Metropolis announced its acquisition of SP Plus, the largest parking network in North America, for $1.5 billion in October 2023 and closed the deal in May 2024. The move allowed Metropolis to rapidly scale its technology and reach 50 million customers across 4,000 locations.

"We've seen success and are continuing to scale and grow because Metropolis' checkout-free experiences give people the gift of time back, so they can spend it on the things that matter the most," cofounder and CEO Alex Israel told Business Insider.

The main challenge it faces: Israel said that most of the parking payments and transactions in the world are still analog.

"We envision a future where checkout-free payments travel with you, but scaling this technology across industries is complicated — it requires remarkable proprietary technology and boots on the ground," he said.

PredictAP

City: Boston

Year founded: 2020

Total funding: $13.17 million

What it does: PredictAP makes real estate invoice processing simple and easy. It uses AI to code invoices quickly.

"So the accounting rules can become very complicated in commercial real estate at big companies," said CEO and founder David Stifter, describing the journey of how an invoice is processed.

He said an invoice would come in first, and someone would need to determine which accounting rules to apply. Predict AP will be useful at this stage because the AI will understand and use the accounting rules correctly. Then, it will go through the rest of the accounts payable process, a department responsible for paying vendors for services or goods at the company. Then, someone will approve it and then pay for it.

Why it's hot: Predict AP serves every corner of the real estate sector. The company said its customers are publicly traded companies that own real estate, private companies that own and operate real estate, or customers who provide services for those big companies.

The company has been able to help AP specialists and property managers face difficulties entering invoices because it takes a lot of time and effort.

"We're able to help folks with that difficult task of coding invoices and it's particularly painful in real estate where there's a lot of complexity," said CEO and founder David Stifter. He added: "Nobody wants to be typing 15-digit invoice numbers; that's not fun."

Russell Franks, the president and cofounder of Predict AP, added to his comments and noted that Predict AP could process an invoice in 30 to 40 seconds faster than the normal processing time of five to 10 minutes.

The main challenge it faces: The company shared that it is hard to find funding in this tough economy, and it is not easy to grow and expand.

Propexo

City: Boston

Year Founded: 2022

Total funding: $7.97 million

What it does: Propexo's unified API, or application programming interface, helps other real-estate tech companies quickly and easily integrate with property-management systems.

Why it's hot: Real-estate tech companies use APIs to integrate with data from external sources, like lead generation systems or rent roll systems.

However, existing APIs and the technology around them are outdated.

That means companies lose time and money that could be used to develop their product while trying to integrate with these APIs, said COO Ben Keller.

Propexo's unified API improves the developer experience by making the integration process simpler, faster, and cheaper. "We're really the first engineering infrastructure product in the proptech ecosystem," said Keller.

The main challenge it faces: It's not easy to convince property managers and owner-operators to change how they've been running their businesses for many years.

In August, the Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against RealPage, alleging that the property-management software company allows landlords to coordinate and unfairly keep rents high. This is causing some landlords to rethink how they handle and process information, according to trade publication Multifamily Dive.

Rent Butter

City: Chicago

Year founded: 2020

Total funding: $4 million

What it does: Rent Butter has created an alternative tenant screening process that gives landlords a more comprehensive view of applicants' financial history.

Why it's hot: Landlords have historically relied on static credit reports and background checks when evaluating potential tenants. Doing so creates a barrier for applicants with financial difficulties early in their adult lives, as credit scores are a difficult metric to improve.

Rent Butter is trying to eliminate that barrier and change the narrative around who is a "good" candidate by providing landlords with additional information that can more accurately assess a person's financial reliability.

Their application connects to an applicant's bank account, credit history, and employment, criminal, and rent payment history to provide a detailed one-page report highlighting their financial behaviors and potential risks.

"Our whole approach is: How do we show who the person is today — not who they were seven or 10 years ago," cofounder and CTO Christopher Rankin told Business Insider.

The main challenge it faces: Rent Butter partners with landlords, rather than selling directly to consumers, which makes scaling a challenge. Most landlords already have a tenant-vetting process, so it could be hard to convince them to change to Rent Butter.

Shepherd

City: San Francisco

Year founded: 2021

Total funding: $22.27 million

What it does: Shepherd is a Managing General Underwriter (MGU) leveraging tech to make underwriting commercial construction insurance more efficient. It also wields data to create more informed risk selection and price recommendations, often leading to upfront and long-term savings for policyholders.

Why it's hot: Insurers partner with MGUs to provide clients with insurance, with the MGU underwriting policies for clients and selling to potential policyholders. Shepherd adapts the typical MGU model by cutting the underwriting process from weeks to hours and incorporating risk assessment tech into its platform, making it a one-stop shop for insurers and clients. By working faster and putting these services in one place, Shepherd can better serve construction companies and insurers while fostering more involved relationships.

The main challenges it faces: Both insurance brokers and potential clients have some healthy skepticism about a new model for commercial construction insurance, so it falls on Shepherd to earn their trust to gain their business.

Steadily

City: Austin

Year founded: 2020

Total funding: $60.1 million

What it does: Steadily is a digital insurance company for real-estate investors that promises a "faster, better, and cheaper" underwriting experience.

Why it's hot: Steadily founder Darren Nix first encountered the outdated nature of insurance underwriting, trying to find quotes for his own rental property in Chicago.

Terrible customer service and shockingly high quotes stopped him in his tracks.

"It was like rolling back the clock to the mid-1990s," he told Business Insider. Focusing on selling insurance to real-estate investors has helped Steadily grow to about 140 employees across Austin and Kansas City, Missouri.

In November, Steadily announced it had started to actively write new business on its own insurance carrier. "Nothing says 'we believe in the product we've built' more strongly than underwriting risk as the carrier," Nix said in a statement.

The main challenge it faces: Steadily has started selling insurance to short-term-rental investors, which presents different challenges than underwriting more traditional, longer-term rentals.

The market represents significant growth — accounting for nearly 20% of Steadily's current business — but the pricing is tricker.

"The people coming in and out of those properties don't take care of them at the same level of responsibility," Nix explained. "One of the things that a host can do to demonstrate that they are a good insurance risk is to point to their Airbnb or VRBO history and show that they're a super host, they take great care of their property, they don't host ragers."

Tour24

City: Medfield, Massachusetts

Year founded: 2020

Total funding: $20.35 million

What it does: Tour24 is an app that lets prospective tenants take self-guided apartment tours without a leasing agent present.

Why it's hot: In many cities, renting an apartment can be cutthroat, with open-house lines and bidding wars to nab a good unit at a reasonable price.

More than ever, people are deciding on places to live quickly — sometimes even committing before they've even seen the unit because they aren't able to schedule a walkthrough that jives with their working hours.

Tour24 allows users — who are ID- and credit card-verified — to tour apartments when leasing agents aren't available, such as on evenings and weekends.

"We are seeing that certainly millennials really prefer self-guided experience," Georgianna W. Oliver, the founder of Tour24, told Business Insider.

Oliver said many of their leasing-agency clients offer Tour24's self-guided tours as well as leasing agent-led tours and virtual tours — and have given feedback that the more options they give potential renters, the better.

"People have the options," she said. "And they really like having the options."

The main challenge it faces: Since the worst part of the COVID-19 pandemic, many individual leasing agencies have been offering some version of a self-guided tour on their own with their own video Tour24 also competes with other self-guided rental-tour apps like Rently and CareTaker.

Tour24 seems to be holding its own: The startup announced in October that it raised $5 million in a Series B round, noting that it had doubled in size in 2024 to reach 525,000 units across over 2,060 multifamily properties.

• Mike Cavanagh bought a 10-foot-wide skinny house in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, in 2024
• It's a spite house because its developer decided to build what he could given city restrictions.
• Cavanagh said he's glad he bought the skinny house even though it attracts some curious onlookers.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Mike Cavanagh, a 51-year-old regional manager for a medical device company, who purchased a skinny house built out of spite in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, in 2024. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I realized it was time to downsize once my kids got older and moved out.

In 2020, I sold my 3,700-square-foot home and moved into a townhouse. I spent about four years renting, hoping the market would adjust, but it never did. I eventually decided it was time to buy something.

In June, I called a real-estate agent friend in Jacksonville Beach and said, "Hey, I'd like to see a few properties." We toured three homes — one was a townhouse, and the other two were three-bedroom houses. None of them felt right.

Later, they called and said, "I've got something you need to see. It's really unique."

The moment I walked into the house, I turned to my real-estate agent and said, "I'll take it."

The home is 10 feet wide and 1,547 square feet, with two bedrooms and 2½ baths. Despite its narrow layout, the exterior has great curb appeal. Inside, it has a modern feel, with beautiful flooring and tile work throughout.

The same day I toured the home, I made an offer. It was accepted, and we closed in just 30 days. I purchased it in early June for just over $600,000.

The home feels like the right size for me

At first, I didn't know much about the home's history. What drew me in was the neighborhood — it was quiet and peaceful, which I liked. The house is also the perfect size for me since I'm single. If I were 40 with young kids, it wouldn't have worked.

Eventually, I met with the home's builder. He explained that he had owned the lot for a long time, and while neighbors wanted to buy it, he wasn't willing to sell.

Originally, he wanted to build a 15-foot-wide home, but the city said no. So, he decided to do it his way and make the home 10 feet wide. That's how its unique design came to be.

I've definitely acclimated to the home. It doesn't feel small; its bumped-out walls give the house an almost container-like feel, reminiscent of an RV from the outside.

One of the home's unique features is its built-in nooks. The upstairs bedroom has a built-in platform where my mattress sits, so I don't need a bed frame.

Another important feature of the home is its natural light. The builder did an excellent job positioning the windows to create a bright, inviting atmosphere.

I hired a local designer, and together we developed a vision for the space.

I do entertain sometimes, but I don't have massive dinner parties. I just wanted to create a great environment for working from home.

We added a built-in white oak couch in the living room with custom cushions. It was a bit pricey but totally worth it because it's incredibly comfortable and has an artsy vibe. By the TV, we also installed built-in shelving and cabinets made from white oak.

I think the skinny house is a good investment

I think the fact that my home was featured on Zillow Gone Wild and that there used to be a "For Sale" sign in the yard both drew a lot of attention.

It's more subdued now, but I occasionally notice random people driving by or walking past and making comments.

I still get jokes, too. Some friends introduce me socially as "the guy who bought the skinny house."

Sometimes, when I meet my neighbors, they mention that they thought the house would be bought and turned into an Airbnb since there are plenty around Jacksonville Beach.

Compared to other cities in Florida, Jacksonville Beach has been slow to develop, which helps keep it affordable — especially relative to other beach towns.

As more people discover it's a fantastic place to live, there's been an influx of movers from the Northeast, some from California, and many from the Midwest.

My real-estate agent and I agreed that the house wouldn't lose equity with Jacksonville Beach's population growing.

If I change jobs or decide to move, I'm confident my home will attract enough interest to sell quickly. I could also rent it out on Airbnb. So I have plenty of options for the home in the long term.

But I plan to continue living in the home. It's my only property, and my job is based in the area, for now at least.

Overall, I do think buying the home was a good decision. Smart people just don't buy real estate to make money; they buy to have a great place to live — and to avoid losing money.

This home was definitely a solid investment.