🏠 Gen Zers realty doom & Lizzo's new pad

The average baby boomer was in their 20s when they bought their “starter home.” Meanwhile for their kids — us millennials — the possibility of home ownership was prolonged well into our mid-30s. As for Gen Z, Fortune Magazine reported that the next generation doesn’t think they’ll ever be able to own a home.

A study by McKinsey revealed that a quarter of Gen Zers say they are unable to put aside enough money for retirement savings and more than half of the population doesn’t expect to own property at any point in their lives.

SPILLING THE (REAL)TEA

Rent prices are insanely high, and an algorithm might be to blame. A class-action lawsuit filed in California is holding the tech company RealPage responsible for inflating rent prices across the country.

The housing market is spelling doom and gloom, trickling down to 300 employees at ZIllow who were laid off this week. The online real estate marketplace claimed the decision was made due to a “shifting focus toward technology-related position.”

Where there’s a potential for profit, there’s a scheme — and usually a Florida connection. New York prosecutors are charging Konrad Bicher, self-proclaimed “Wolf of Airbnb” with wire fraud and identity theft. The Florida man signed 18 leases in New York and owed more than $1 million in rent payments, but was collecting $1.2 million in income from renting out those units on Airbnb.

Would you go glamping in Woodstock? Known for hosting the most famous rock festival of the 1960s, Woodstock today is now a pretty lowkey town in upstate New York. But, a glamping company wants to turn 77 acres into an “outdoor resort”, and locals aren’t having it.

Home buying on the blockchain isn’t just the future, it’s the now. The online platform Roofstock completed one of the first NFT-based residential home sales in the U.S. this week in Columbia, South Carolina.

TIP OF THE WEEK

U.S. mortgage rates have skyrocketed to 7%, which is the highest they’ve been in more than 20 years. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Now might not be the time to buy. BUT, you can use this opportunity to get your finances in order. Here are four things you can do now to get the lowest possible mortgage rate in the future, according to Forbes.

01 — Work on your credit score: Higher credit scores = better interest rates. How can you improve your credit score? By paying your bills on time and keeping your credit utilization low.

02 — Consider different loan types: Fixed-rate, adjustable rate mortgages (ARM), or government-insured loans — which one is right for you?

03 — Pay off your debt: Lenders will factor in your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio when they’re deciding whether to approve your mortgage application. If you’re paying off credit cards, a car purchase, or your student loans, get those IOUs as close to zero as possible.

04 — Save for a down payment: The more money you can put down, the lower your interest rate will be, and the less you’ll end up paying over the lifetime of the loan.

WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY INTO

📚 What we're reading: “We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power” by Rachel Rodgers. Released over the summer, this book doesn’t just share money-making strategies, but it also gives you permission to dream a little bigger.

🎧 What we're listening to: This week’s “On The Market” podcast episode lays out where an economist predicts home prices will naturally start to decline — and how investors should start preparing.

👀 What we're watching: The first season of “The White Lotus” to prepare for the season two premiere of the Emmy Award-winning HBO original show, which starts streaming tonight!

🛒 What we're adding to our shopping cart: These bamboo sheets from Ettitude, which are silky smooth and more cooling than your average cotton sheets.

SEEING STARS

Do you know what Lizzo said when she got the keys to her $15 million Beverly Hills home? It’s “About Damn Time.” The pop singer finally upgraded from her modest Echo Park residence to this modern treehouse in the Hills, but she isn’t the first Grammy Award-winning vocalist to have this address. Back in 2014 to 2016, Harry Styles lived there, although his former home was demolished before Lizzo’s new estate was built in its place.

WOMEN OF THE HOUSE

Featuring Marcie Mauro and Allison Corraro, Co-founders of Elated Spaces

We spoke with the Elated Spaces founders about their short-term-rental design tricks so you can apply them to your own rental properties—or reach out to Marcie and Allison for help.

What are some trends you think are key for short-term rental owners to incorporate?

Marcie: Always, always, always create a “wow” moment somewhere in your property. We recommend aiming to create a wow moment in each room. Before guests book, they are only experiencing your property through photos, so think about what will stand out and catch the eye or “stop the scroll.”

That can be something as simple as a feature wall (think paint, wallpaper, murals, plants, large art/gallery frames, unique paneling or molding), using bold colors in accessories/curtains/pillows, or creating an overall theme for your property specific to the guests you are trying to attract.

Have a girlfriends’ getaway? A cute bar cart with glasses and a shaker set will set the mood. Have the perfect place for families? Consider adding a game room with an air hockey table and retro pinball machine and sprinkle board games throughout the property. Is your rental near a college and aimed at attracting parents coming to visit their kids for the weekend? Think about tastefully decorating in the school’s colors (a little goes a long way, we promise!).

What other design principles do you follow in these properties?

Marcie: Find ways to incorporate layers into every space. Layers of texture, layers of lighting, sizes, and shapes, and of course, layers of pillows. We like to add something textured and something green (real plants, faux plants, art, or accent pieces) to every room. If you’ve got an outdoor space, make it great. It doesn’t have to be big, it doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, it just needs to be intentional. Pinterest is a goldmine for outdoor space inspiration.

Are there any design no-nos for short-term-rentals?

Marcie: Oh boy, where do we start? The biggest no-no we see is property owners not spending a few hundred dollars to invest in professional real estate photos. If you’re not a professional photographer or a well-practiced-people-always-say-I-should-be-a-photographer hobbyist, we beg you, leave it to the pros. Fantastic photos will pay you back many, many times over in bookings. Even a well-designed space can fall flat if it’s not photographed well.

Avoid being matchy-matchy, and please, no themed bed-in-a-bag sets. This is where layers come in again and add something unexpected that complements shape, size, or color.

Just because a property is near a beach, the mountains, a theme park, a sporting event, etc., doesn’t mean the entire property needs a literal interpretation in every detail that it’s near that place. We see this a lot with coastal properties—seashells, whales, and starfish everywhere. For a more sophisticated look, opt for a coastal color palette, soft neutral linens and earthy textures, and colors in throw pillows and area rugs. Keep the ocean animals limited to artwork or an occasional, tasteful accessory, like a brass whale that sits on a bookshelf or dresser. Ask yourself how you can hint at the location without actually saying it.

What advice do you have for rental owners who might be on a budget but still want to create a truly beautiful space for guests?

Allison: There are infinite ways to create magical spaces for guests; you are truly only limited by your creativity or willingness to find inspiration for how you can be more creative. As designers, Pinterest is our Google. Anything you can imagine, someone has thought of it and you can find it on Pinterest. If you’re willing to put in some sweat equity and tackle some DIY projects, your space can look tremendously better than an expensive space with expensive furnishings that were not thoughtfully put together.