Category: Investment

Stephanie Trunzo used to jet around America as global vice president at Oracle from her base in a 6,800-square-foot Raleigh, N.C., house. These days, she can be found watching alligators snack on seafood from the back porch of her three-bedroom, three-bathroom Daufuskie Island, S.C., home, where she retreated with her husband, Ryan Malynn, and daughter to ride out the pandemic.

“We looked at is as a bunker, a bubble away from fear,’’ said Ms. Trunzo, 43. She and her husband, 43, purchased the $920,000 home a year ago. “It’s as if we’ve returned to childhood and are playing outside. We are like Davy Crockett off exploring in the wilderness.”

Ms. Trunzo and Mr. Malynn are far from alone in their newfound appreciation for a more basic life. From New York to San Francisco, urbanites have escaped to bucolic second homes and found a deeper connection to the nature that surrounds

Romantic, stylish, and exquisitely renovated, an airy New Orleans townhouse that’s nearly 200 years old racked up the most clicks this week on realtor.com®. The three-story home with an abundance of old-school charm was built in 1831 and located just a couple of blocks from Bourbon Street. It’s also the oldest home currently available in the Big Easy.

The grande dame on the outskirts of the city’s famous French Quarter neighborhood has retained some of its original charms, including plaster medallions and hardwood floors. A full renovation in 2013 added an elevator as well as a fancy, modernized kitchen.

Other homes you clicked on also straddled the line between rustic and refined. They include the modern cabin Phish bassist Mike Gordon is selling. The property in the gorgeous Vermont woods comes with a recording studio.

You were also intrigued by a couple of classic homes from the 1800s, a wood-paneled

A group of real-estate startups is aiming to cash in on the remote-work phenomenon.

With many corporate offices closed because of the pandemic, many young professionals have left cities like New York and San Francisco for warmer, cheaper places. A number still plan to return after their offices reopen, leaving them reluctant to buy homes or sign long-term apartment leases.

That situation is creating fresh demand for furnished housing on a short-term basis, a fast-growing niche that many property startups and their venture-capital backers are rushing to fill.

One of them is Landing, which runs a network of furnished apartments across the U.S. When it launched in 2019, the Birmingham, Ala., and San Francisco-based company initially planned to operate in about 30 cities last year. Instead, it expanded to 75, largely because demand grew much faster than expected, said Landing Chief Executive Bill Smith.

“Covid has taken a decade of