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Category Archives: Housing

How to Delete Your House’s Pictures From Sites Like Zillow, Redfin, and Realtor

Lifehacker: “Our personal data shows up in so many public online spaces. But while there are ways to review and delete your data from social media profiles or even Google search, one place you may not think to check is your property’s listing on sites like Redfin, Zillow, or Realtor.com. While it’s unlikely someone will… Continue Reading

Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters

NOAA – “The U.S. has sustained 341 weather and climate disasters since 1980 where overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 billion (including CPI adjustment to 2022). The total cost of these 341 events exceeds $2.475 trillion. In 2022, there were 18 weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each to affect the United States.… Continue Reading

Coastal Risk Screening Tool

“An interactive map showing areas threatened by sea level rise and coastal flooding. Combining the most advanced global model of coastal elevations with the latest projections for future flood levels. Flood maps are only as good as the elevation data they’re founded on. We used machine learning to develop CoastalDEM ®, a high-accuracy digital elevation… Continue Reading

Redfin Adds Zoning Data for More Than 70 Million Homes

Redfin: “Today, we added zoning and land use information to home description pages on Redfin.com. This information, which is provided by our partners at Zoneomics, will help you understand the implications of your local zoning guidelines and how your property can and cannot be used. In addition to determining what property types and density are… Continue Reading

TIME The Best Inventions of 2022

“Every year for over two decades, TIME editors have highlighted the 100 most impactful new products and ideas. This year, in a rapidly shifting world, innovation boomed. So in 2022, for the first time ever, we selected the year’s 200 Best Inventions. To compile the list, we solicited nominations from TIME’s editors and correspondents around… Continue Reading

Scam apartment listings are everywhere. Here’s how to spot them.

Washington Post: Dodging fraudulent listings is creating extra stress for apartment-hunters. “But fake listings have telltale signs…Today, navigating real estate scams is part of the process for prospective renters looking for homes online. And the sustained spike in housing prices amid inflation and supply problems makes people more vulnerable as they scramble to find something… Continue Reading

Rent Going Up? One Company’s Algorithm Could Be Why

Pro Publica: “Texas-based RealPage’s YieldStar software helps landlords set prices for apartments across the U.S. With rents soaring, critics are concerned that the company’s proprietary algorithm is hurting competition…For years, RealPage has sold software that uses data analytics to suggest daily prices for open units. Property managers across the United States have gushed about how… Continue Reading

Exploring gaps in city climate planning and the need for regional action

Brookings: “The growing threats from climate change leave the global population no choice: We must decarbonize human activity as soon as possible. That includes changing how we build, travel, generate power, and more to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Achieving such transformative change will require a mix of policy reforms, new technologies, and significant capital… Continue Reading

The 6th National Risk Assessment on Hazardous Heat

“New research from First Street Foundation analyzes the the prevalence of increasing extreme temperatures and dangerous heat wave events throughout the contiguous United States, with a key finding being the incidence of heat that exceeds the threshold of the National Weather Service’s (NWS) highest category for heat, called “Extreme Danger” (Heat Index above 125°F) is… Continue Reading

How Many U.S. Households Don’t Have Air Conditioning?

Energy Institute at Haas: “With rising adoption, nearly 90% of American homes have air conditioning, but almost 30% in California are still without it. And, once again, the U.S. is gripped by sweltering heat and humidity. Higher-than-average summer temperatures are everywhere, even in places like Portland, Oregon, which topped 100 degrees last weekend and in… Continue Reading