$1 million is longer enough to buy a Luxury Home in the U.S.

Listing of the day

A Bentley-Branded Miami Condo Has a Penthouse Where You Ride the Elevator With Your Car to the 61st Floor

Other amenities at the trophy home include a seven-car sky garage, indoor and outdoor pools, 22-foot ceilings and a rooftop terrace. Read More

Smart Homes

Smart & Spooky: Four High-Tech Halloween Decorations

Embrace the season with these fun, fright-inducing devices. Read More

U.S. Pending Home Sales Rebounded in August

With lower mortgage rates enticing buyers, pending home sales noticeably increased in August, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. Based on signed contracts, pending sales of previously owned homes were up 4% from the month prior and 3.8% annually. The only U.S. region to see contracts decline was the Northeast. Reuters

John Goodman Sells New Orleans Home at a Nearly $1.5 Million Discount

Actor John Goodman has finally unloaded his longtime New Orleans home, selling it for $4 million. That is almost $1.5 million off his initial asking price of $5.45 million. Goodman listed the four-bedroom historic home in February, having owned it since 2005, when he and his wife paid $1.8 million for the property. Realtor.com

Average Two-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Finally Falls Below 5% in the U.K.

The U.K.’s average two-year mortgage rate is now at 4.99%, a three-year low and the first time it has fallen below 5% since Liz Truss’s so-called mini-budget in September 2022. However, it is unlikely that rates will see any further notable cuts this year. “There’s some optimism that rates might soften a little bit throughout the year, but it won’t be a dramatic drop,” said John Morris, mortgage adviser from Pure Property Finance. PropertyWire

Coastal Australian Property With Just an Odd Pool Listed for A$4 Million

A plot of land with just a swimming pool is on the market in Byron Bay, New South Wales, with a price guide of A$4.2 million to A$4.6 million (US$2.77 million to US$3.04 million). The property is nearly 8,000 square meters (nearly 2 acres), and despite its lack of dwelling, it’s expected to sell for triple Australia’s median house price. The seller knocked down the house that was previously on the land but kept the oddly shaped pool, expecting to build a new house. Domain

Rise of ‘Accidental Landlords’ Is Bad News for Investors Who Bet Big on Rentals [The Wall Street Journal]

I Had to Pay a Whole Year of Rent for Somewhere I Don’t Live [The Times of London]

Do You Really Need Flood Insurance? NFIP and Risk Zones Explained [Realtor.com]

Gold Coast Home Prices Nudge 10% Growth in One Year [news.com.au]