Whether there's a loud highway nearby or raucous next-door neighbors, buyers are often deterred by the thought of living without peace and quiet. Tackle the issues sooner rather than later to make sure things are smooth-sailing once it's time to start showing the home.

Buyers' agent Ira Jelinek advised her clients that "we had nothing to lose by trying within a price we felt was comfortable" in pursuing a four-bedroom home in Toronto prior to the offer date. The client's offer was accepted for the more than 20-year-old home in what Jelinek described as the "perfect location" for this family.

Manalapan, Fla., is proving to be a haven for billionaires, with investor Jeff Greene recently hiring a broker to put his $49.9 million listing on the market. Area listing agent Christian Angle says properties in Manalapan once lagged behind nearby Palm Beach in price but that is now changing.

Bolder patterns in furnishings, home accessories and even on walls and lights are disrupting recent trends toward minimalist, neutral interiors. See how designers are using retro, abstract shapes and bold, nature-inspired patterns to add more visual interest to a home.

Over the last 20 years, REALTORS® have worked on the ground to help make their communities whole after disaster. "When you're self-employed, you feel like an island sometimes," says Nashville, Tenn., real estate pro Anna Altic. "I had this rough thing happen, and people who don't have anything to gain from helping me are the first to jump in. I can't wait to pay it forward."

An economic downturn could drive up demand for single-family rentals, experts predict, with home prices locking out many buyers and continued growth in rent rates attracting investors to build-to-rent deals. "We've studied hundreds of build-to-rent developments around the country, and they're leasing up as fast as the homes can be delivered," said Brad Hunter, founder of Hunter Housing Economics.

Household debt climbed to a record high of $16.15 trillion in the second quarter, suggesting that households are resorting to more borrowing to keep pace with rising inflation, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The largest contributors to the uptick are mortgages, auto loans and rising costs of consumer staples prompted by the Russia-Ukraine war, researchers noted.

Extended-stay hotels could supply a remedy to housing shortages and homelessness by reviving an era when hotels commonly served as residential options for Americans of various income levels, Slate writer Henry Grabar says. Indicators Grabar cites include the robust growth of the extended-stay sector and of the long-term category of Airbnb's bookings.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has charted a course to review the basic structure of Federal Home Loan Banks, a little-followed $1 trillion government-sponsored enterprise made up of banks and insurance companies. Agency Director Sandra Thompson wants to address "foundational questions about mission, purpose and organization."