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Day in and day out, we on the Inman editorial staff write about tough news in the real estate world. Litigation, criminal cases, hiring wins, industry conflicts, and more. There’s never a dull moment.
But the end of the year is also an opportunity to reflect on why we writers chose to cover this beat in the first place. We actually like real estate. There is drama in trading. A fantasy that imagines a new life. And there’s also the simple aesthetic pleasure of looking at a particularly well-crafted home, or in many cases, a well-crafted property of that home.
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So, for the second year in a row, we’re bringing you a list of what Inman’s editorial staff liked this year. The homes below range from cabins to mansions. They are both urban and rural. But this year they all reminded us why we love this beat.
When summer rolls around and I get idealistic and daydream about escaping the brutal heat of the Southwest, I sometimes think about how great it would be to share an Adirondack lakeside cabin with my family.
This spacious 8-bedroom on Lake Placid’s bay easily accommodates the needs of my parents, 2 siblings, and our family (3 partners, 5 kids, and growing) You can. With multiple fireplaces, a recreation room, wine room, boat house, pool, and screened porch, there is something for everyone to enjoy.
Of course, sharing a property with family seems like a bit of a nightmare, and while the 23 acres of land attached to the property are beautiful, it seems like a pain to maintain. (We couldn’t afford such a place either.) But the cool mountain air, the sound of children laughing near the water, and the sounds that come with vacationing in a place where cell phone service is spotty It’s fun to dream of peace. — Lillian Dickerson
I was very skeptical when this 3-unit home in one of Chicago’s most upscale suburbs came on the market. Surely the village would ban anything other than single-family homes, I thought. After a quick call to the listing agent and a follow-up with the village, I determined that the three apartments were built before modern zoning and were therefore legal.
This listing represented a golden opportunity to househack into one of the most elite zip codes in the country. This is an area I would never buy unless the other two units made up for the cost of the house. I’ve written about house hacking before, and I’ve always dreamed of trying it someday. Then this list appeared. — Taylor Anderson
Every Lake Tahoe website mentions Emerald Bay, a deep, wooded area on the lake’s southwest rim. There is no better name, and for many, no better name for the development of luxury goods. Additionally, its location on the outer edge of the Desolation Wilderness and Tahoe’s building standards reduce risks such as wildfire.
It was once the U.S. Forest Service that was privileged enough to build here. In 1934, Emerald Bay Road 20 was completed. This is a testament to the now forgotten minimalism along the northern cliffs of the bay. This mere 1,000 square foot residence was intended for rangers and lumberjacks who entered the forest for work, and has since been renovated with touches of mountain modernism to make it a year-round occupancy.
I saw this place on the list for two winters while snowboarding. It’s a small, snow-covered hovel at the base of a heralded backcountry ski zone, a regular subject for some of the industry’s most prominent photographers. The house hosted après-ski gatherings, and when summer arrived, we watched the bay wake up and named bears. The $800,000 price tag isn’t a bad number considering how much value the ski-in/ski-out tag adds to the actual resort listing. — Craig Lowe
Jamaica holds a special place in my heart. My grandfather was born in Coleyville. Colleyville is a small town perched atop the second highest mountain on the island. Colleyville (pronounced coeur-et-ville) is said to derive its name from the region’s climate, where light frosts on mango and ackee trees were common in the fall and winter. It’s been many years since I last visited my grandfather’s hometown, but I often remember the lush landscape, the patois blaring from corner shops, the salty smell of the sea breeze, curry-stained fingers, and the aching pleasure of Scotch bonnet sauce. .
Before coming to the United States, my grandfather was a skilled carpenter and helped build the family home and many other homes throughout Colleyville. It’s been over 20 years since I last visited this house, so my memory has faded.
But when I saw this listing within St. Anne’s Parish, I immediately envisioned a family reunion there. In the kitchen, aunts and uncles swapped recipes for goat curry and my grandfather’s famous lamb eggnog, while little children ran through the trees picking. Vines are falling from the worn blue shutters. The rest of us were out in the garden playing music and discussing card games. We all exchange stories about our lives in Jamaica, the United States, and Canada, and how we are connected even though we are thousands of miles and decades apart. did. — Marian McPherson
As billionaires prepare for the apocalypse by building multi-million dollar bunkers in places like New Zealand, a few simple tweaks to real estate search sites could give the rest of us options. do not have. If you search around rural areas, specify “living off the grid,” and limit the results to properties that are at least 2 acres, you’ll see some interesting results.
Head over to Zillow and use these search parameters around Redding, California, a city of 90,000 people in Northern California separated by Interstate 5 and the Sacramento River, to find singularities, from cabins to McMansions. You’ll find dozens of options for surviving.
For me, it was love at first sight for this “highly desirable” 1,200 square foot, two-bedroom home located on 71 acres just outside the boundaries of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. It’s pretty fancy, featuring “spacious meadows, ponds, seasonal streams, barns, bathhouses, workshops, outdoor kitchen areas, garages, chicken coops, hunting cabins, dens with woodstoves, orchards, and vegetable gardens.” I can see it. I’m sure your $425,000 would be a headache for the appraiser, not to mention the auto loan underwriter. — Matt Carter
Like many people on the internet, I was thrilled when the famous Home Alone house went on the market last spring. The brick mansion, built for $5.2 million, is pretty close to the platonic ideal home, plus I (like many others) have no plans for home alone vacations. I have a lifetime of fond memories of seeing it. And like many on the internet, I was shocked to see the listing photo. While the interiors depicted in the film are warm and welcoming, the versions that exist today are sterile and cold. All are variations of gray or white. It’s like Airbnb where you forget to write a review.
So why did this make us think about going public in 2024? Because much of the internet reacted the same way. Lamentations over the home’s minimalist aesthetic were widely shared on various social media platforms. Apparently people want more than just a home. As such, this list captures the growing and significant changes. It looks like modern minimalism is finally making its way to Tuscan kitchens. The long national nightmare about millennial grays may finally be coming to an end. — Jim Dalrymple II
I recently stumbled upon this Lake Tahoe mansion and it immediately stole my heart. I want it now, but it’s only a dream. Growing up in Virginia, I was always surrounded by water, whether it was a lake or a backyard pool, so the concept of 40 feet of lakefront feels like home to me. Add in a chance to enjoy some random boating or just dip your toes in the water and relax, and I’m done.
What really seals the deal is the house itself. This property has been completely renovated with sleek modern amenities and furniture while maintaining the cozy traditional feel that I love.
The design is minimalist yet stylish, and truly means “less is more.” This home also provides plenty of space for me and my family, as the four-bedroom home spans approximately 12,000 square feet. There’s more than enough to have fun, live comfortably, and be creative. Although this mansion may look like the ultimate vacation home from the outside, I can imagine myself living here full-time in complete peace and hopefully quiet.
And as a lover of wine, crime documentaries, and horror movies, don’t even get me started on a dedicated wine room and home theater — Richelle Hamiel
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