Energy- and Disaster-Related Home Improvement Spending Trending Upward

“Although relatively few homeowners pursue projects with energy efficiency or decarbonization as a primary motivator, market spending on any improvement that ultimately impacts home energy use has expanded greatly in the past two decades,” says Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies 2025 Improvi

What Do Americans Know About Home Pests?

While 60% of homeowners feel confident in their ability to control pests at home, only 22% are fully confident, according to a survey by Modern Pest Services.   To remedy home pest problems, 97% said they’ve tried DIY solutions, including:  Store-bought pesticides (72%)  Traps (50%)  Scents (e.g., l

1 in 3 Americans Struggle to Pay Utility Bills

A third of Americans are struggling to pay their utility bills, and 22% missed at least one payment in 2025, according to a survey conducted last December by American Home Shield. Eleven percent reported missing multiple payments.  The significant number of those struggling may be attributed to risi

Philadelphia More Than Doubled Office-to-Apartment Conversions Last Year

At the start of 2026, approximately 90,300 office-to-apartment conversions were in the pipeline nationwide, up 28% year-over-year, per RentCafe.  Office conversions now account for nearly half (47%) of all future adaptive reuse projects nationwide, helping offset post-pandemic office vacancies (whic