Thanks to a 1997 change in the federal tax code, more homeowners are retaining profits from sales, with the opportunity to buy two homes as a result.
"If you are thinking about buying a second home this spring -- or you bought one in the past couple of years -- you are part of a major transformation in the real estate market.
The number of second homes purchased annually in the United States doubled from 2000 to 2004, according to new research. The boom is being driven in part by demographics -- mainly a flood of equity-laden baby boomers -- and in part by a largely unexpected effect of tax-law changes in the late 1990s."
"When Congress amended the federal tax code in 1997 to permit up to $500,000 (for married couples) or $250,000 (for singles) of gain on the sale of a primary home to be spared from taxation, 'homeowners did not have to buy expensive [replacement] homes anymore...'"
Read the full story: Tax Law Gave Rise To Second-Home Boom
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment
The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.
Mass. votes against statewide minimum lot size for single-family homes
Over 2 million residents voted on Question 7; it was decided by just over 30,000 votes.
Maryland’s $15 billion bridge project gains key approval
The Maryland Transit Authority said the project will create over 60,000 jobs and add $23 billion to the local economy.
‘No clear next steps’ for Chicago's permanent festival grounds
Eleventh Ward Ald. Nicole Lee has suggested Soldier Field as a possible location for the permanent event space.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority