The Fight Over the Kennedy Center Continues—and Everything Else You Need to Know About This Week
Governor Gavin Newsom sets safety standards for homes damaged by wildfire smoke, Airbnb launches a $250 million housing fund, and more.
Governor Gavin Newsom sets safety standards for homes damaged by wildfire smoke, Airbnb launches a $250 million housing fund, and more.
The Kennedy Center’s board voted to close the struggling venue for urgent repairs after part of its ceiling collapse. The vote came after a federal judge blocked President Trump, yet again, from adding his name to the building, prompting him to threaten to pull support for its renovation via Truth Social and berate Representative Joyce Beatty during a heated board meeting. (The Atlantic)
U.S. existing home sales fell for the third straight month in August as mortgage rates neared seven percent, and prices hit a record high for the month. More homes are lingering on the market, giving buyers who can still afford to shop a wider selection and a little more leverage when negotiating. (The Los Angeles Times)
California has created the nation’s first science-based pair of laws for testing and cleaning wildfire smoke-damaged homes, now thought of as a "curse in disguise" by homeowners whose houses survived the flames but remained unsafe. Insurers must cover testing and living expenses until a home is deemed safe to live in. (The New York Times)
"We want to make sure that our investments are catalytic and are demonstrating proof of concept about new models that can work," Airbnb Chief Executive Brian Chesky told WSJ regarding the company’s decision to finance affordable and mixed-income housing projects.
Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for Airbnb
Airbnb is launching a $250 million fund to help finance affordable and mixed-income housing projects, starting with a development in Austin, Texas that will have around 200 units. Here’s what prompted the initiative. (Wall Street Journal)
A recent study by the National Association of Realtors found that data centers can have drastically different effects on housing in different areas, with impacts varying widely by market. In Abilene, Texas, workers building the $500 billion Stargate Project have packed nearby rentals and hotels, helping push the median home price from about $250,000 to $342,000 in six years. Here’s why the same facilities driving up housing demand in one city may barely move the market in another. (NPR)
Top photo by Mehmet Eser/Anadolu via Getty Images
