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Day in and day out, we here on Inman’s editorial staff write the hard news of the real estate industry. Legal filings, criminal cases, recruiting victories, industry rivalries and more. There’s never a dull moment.
But the year’s end also brings an opportunity to reflect on why some of us writers ended up covering this beat in the first place: We actually like real estate. There’s the drama of deal-making. The fantasy of imagining a new life. And the simple aesthetic pleasures of looking at a particularly well-crafted home — or, often, that home’s also-well crafted listing.
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So, for the second year in a row, we bring you the listings Inman’s editorial staff loved this year. The homes below range from cabins to mansions. They’re urban and they’re rural. But all of them served this year as a reminder to us of why we love this beat.
When I’m feeling idealistic come summer and am daydreaming about escaping the punishing heat of the Southwest, I sometimes think about how nice it could be to co-own with my family a lakeside cabin in the Adirondacks.
This spacious 8-bedroom on a bay off of Lake Placid would handily serve the needs of my parents, two siblings and our families (three partners, five kids and counting). With multiple fireplaces, a rec room, wine room, boat house, pool and screened-in porch, there’s something for everyone.
Of course, the logistics of co-owning a piece of property with my family members sounds like a bit of a nightmare, and the 23 acres of land attached to this property, while beautiful, seems overwhelming to maintain. (We also could never afford such a place.) But it’s fun to dream about the cool mountain air, the sounds of children laughing near the water and the peace that comes with vacationing in a place where cell service is unreliable. — Lillian Dickerson
I was highly suspicious when this three-unit home in one of Chicago’s most exclusive suburbs hit the market. Surely, I thought, the village would have banned anything more than a single-family home. After a quick call to the listing broker and some follow-ups with the village, I confirmed that this three-flat was built before modern zoning and was therefore legal.
The listing represented the perfect chance to house hack my way into one of the most elite zip codes in the country. It’s an area I’d otherwise never be able to afford if the other two units weren’t helping offset the cost of the house. House hacking is something I’ve written about before and dreamed about doing someday. Then this listing came along. — Taylor Anderson
Any website on visiting Lake Tahoe will mention Emerald Bay, a deep, tree-guarded outgrowth on the lake’s southwest rim. It couldn’t be more aptly named and, to many, more suited for luxury development. And its location on the outer rim of the Desolation Wilderness, and Tahoe’s construction standards, alleviate risks from things such as wildfires.
Privileged enough to once build here was the U.S. Forest Service. In 1934, it finished 20 Emerald Bay Road, a testament to now-forgotten minimalism on the Bay’s northern cliffside. This barely-1,000 square foot residence — for the rangers and loggers who ventured into the woods for work — has since been renovated with a touch of mountain modernism, capable of year-round living.
I’ve seen it listed for two winters now as I glide by on my snowboard — a snug, snow-encrusted hovel at the base of a heralded backcountry ski zone that’s consistently the subject of the industry’s most notable photographers. In this home, I’d host aprés-ski gatherings and, come summer, watch the bay awaken and name bears. Given how much value the ski-in/ski-out tag adds to actual resort listings, the $800,000-price tag isn’t a bad number. — Craig Rowe
Jamaica holds a special place in my heart. My grandfather was born in Coleyville — a small town perched on the second-highest peak on the island. It’s said that Coleyville’s (pronounced cool-e-ville) name was inspired by the area’s weather, where it wasn’t uncommon to see a light frost on the mango and ackee trees during the fall and winter. It’s been years since I’ve been to my grandfather’s homeland, but I often think of the lush scenery, patois ringing from corner stores, the salty smell of ocean breeze, curry-stained fingers, and the painful delight of scotch bonnet sauce.
Before my grandfather came to the U.S., he was a skilled carpenter who helped build his family’s home and many other homes throughout Coleyville. My memory of the house is faint, as it’s been more than 20 years since I visited it.
However, when I saw this listing within Saint Ann Parish, I immediately imagined having a family reunion there — my aunts and uncles in the kitchen trading recipes for curry goat and my grandfather’s famous rum egg nog, the little ones running through the trees and plucking vines off the worn blue shutters. The rest of us would be in the garden, playing music and arguing over card games. We’d all trade stories about our lives in Jamaica, the U.S. and Canada, and how we’re all connected, despite the thousands of miles and decades between us. — Marian McPherson
As billionaire preppers prepare for the apocalypse by building multimillion dollar bunkers in places like New Zealand, a few simple tweaks to real estate search sites can turn up options for the rest of us. Center a search on a rural area, specify “live off grid,” and limit your results to properties of at least 2 acres and some interesting stuff comes up.
Heading over to Zillow and employing these search parameters around Redding, California — a city of 90,000 in Northern California divided by I-5 and the Sacramento River — turns up several dozen options for surviving the singularity, ranging from cabins to McMansions.
For me, it was love at first sight for this “very desirable” 1,200-square-foot, 2-bedroom house situated on 71 acres just outside the boundaries of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Featuring “open meadows, ponds, seasonal creeks, barns, bathhouse, work shops, outdoor kitchen area, garage, chicken coop, hunting cabin, study with a wood stove, fruit orchard and veggie garden,” it looks like quite a bit of bang for your $425,000 bucks — although I’m guessing it would present some headaches for the appraiser, not to mention the automated loan underwriter. — Matt Carter
Like much of the internet, I was delighted when the famed Home Alone house hit the market last spring. The brick manse — which was asking $5.2 million — is pretty close to the platonic ideal of a home, and besides I (like many others) have a lifetime of fond memories watching Home Alone during the holidays. And then, also like much of the internet, I was devastated by the listing photos. While the interior depicted in the film is warm and welcoming, the version that exists today is sterile and cold. Everything is some variation of grey or white. It feels like an Airbnb that you’d forget to write a review for.
So why is this the listing I couldn’t stop thinking about in 2024? Because much of the internet responded in the same way. Across a variety of social media platforms, laments about the home’s minimalist aesthetic were widespread. People, apparently, want a home, not just a house. And for that reason, the listing captures a growing sea change; modern minimalism appears to at last be going the way of the Tuscan kitchen. Our long national nightmare with millennial gray may finally be drawing to a close. — Jim Dalrymple II
I recently stumbled across this Lake Tahoe mansion and it immediately stole my heart. I want it now, but I’m only dreaming. Growing up in Virginia, I was always surrounded by water — whether it was a lake or a pool in my backyard — so the idea of 150 feet of lakefront feels like home to me. Add in the opportunity to randomly enjoy boating, or just dipping my toes in the water to unwind, and I am complete.
What really seals the deal is the house itself. The property has been completely renovated with sleek, modern fixtures and furniture while maintaining the cozy, traditional vibe that I love.
The design is minimalist but stylish — definitely “less is more.” The home also offers plenty of space for myself and my family, as the four-bedroom house spans about 12,000 square feet. That’s more than enough to entertain, live comfortably and even get creative. While the mansion might look like the ultimate vacation home on the exterior, I can picture myself living here full-time in total peace and, hopefully, quiet.
Also, as a lover ofwine, crime documentaries and horror flicks, don’t get me started on the dedicated wine room and home theater — Richelle Hammiel
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