Just how critical are pollinators to the success of a garden? Very, since butterflies, birds, bees, and bats all help maintain habitats. But pollinators are in danger, and that poses a major risk for everybody. One out of every three bites of food we consume is attributed to the help of pollinators. Honeybees usually get the greatest attention; their population has been on the decline since the late 1990s and one-third of our food supply depends
More consumers are buying their products online and then picking them up at a store. These “click-and-collect” buyers are helping to boost in-store sales, which could bode well for the commercial real estate market.More than 50 percent of adults use click-and-collect buying methods. In fact, 61 percent say they use it frequently (at least once per month), according to a new survey of about 1,000 consumers conducted by ICSC, a global resource&
Homes are increasingly flooding, not from weather-related events but from old pipes and valves, worn-out hoses on second-story washing machines, and faulty connections from appliances that use water, The Wall Street Journal reports.The uptick has sparked an increase in extensive water damage to homes that has been reported to insurers. One in 50 homeowners filed a water damage claim each year between 2013 and 2017, according to Verisk A
Complaints about the condition of homes on military bases, including lead poisoning, mold, and poor construction, have grown worse since the problems were first revealed in a Reuters investigation last August. NBC News did a follow-up piece Friday looking at whether there has been any improvement but found that the number of complaints by military families has increased, now getting the attention of lawmakers.Seventy-three percent of homeowners
The majority of Americans—79 percent recently surveyed—still believe that owning a home is a vital component of achieving the American dream, according to a Bankrate.com survey of more than 2,000 consumers. Americans placed achieving homeownership ahead of retirement (68 percent), having a successful career (63 percent), and owning an automobile (58 percent), according to the survey.While the majority of respondents rated ownership high, they
Buyers financing their home purchase can save hundreds of dollars in their first year of owning just by shopping around for a mortgage, according to new study from NerdWallet, a personal finance website.Home shoppers who compare interest rates between five different lenders can pocket $430 in savings in their first year alone, according to NerdWallet’s analysis using a 30-year fixed-rate, $260,000 mortgage.“That savings would accumulate and c
The number one way younger millennials and Generation Zers learn about brands is from friends and family, outpacing Google, social media, Amazon, retail stores, and television in descending order, according to a recently study of 18- to 29-year-olds by Swift Prepaid Solutions, a payments technology provider.As digital natives, members of this group of emerging buyers are highly tech-savvy, and, like their older counterparts, prefer
By 2030, the number of people who are 65 and older will be larger than the number of people under the age of 18, for the first time in the nation’s history, according to recent U.S. Population Survey projections. The year 2030 is when the last of the baby boomer generation will turn 65. After that, one in every five Americans will be of traditional retirement age.The aging population will reshape interior design over the next decade, according
Even in cold, snowy, or icy weather, real estate professionals can do a lot to make a property more appealing to potential buyers. After all, 50 percent of real estate professionals surveyed say that staging a home before a sale increases the amount of an offer by from 1 to 10 percent—and that was regardless of the season, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ “2017 Profile of Home Staging” report.Here are a few tips for wi
Designing houses with features buyers want is a continuous process for the home building industry. During a Feb. 19 session at the 2019 International Builders' Show in Las Vegas, builders and designers took a break from their work to talk about some of the changes they're seeing.Curved entryway staircases step back.A curved stairway leading to the upper floor can make for a grand entrance into a home, and certainly serves as a focal poi
This website includes images sourced from third party websites including Adobe, Getty Images, and as otherwise noted.
