Beloved YouTube couple Cody Kolodziejzyk (known simply as Cody Ko) and Kelsey Kreppel have had quite the year.
The two content creators kicked off 2023 by tying the knot and soon after announced that they are currently expecting their first baby.
And while the two became famous for podcasting about their lives, they are very mindful of not sharing the most intimate moments of their lives with their hordes of followers.
And there are A LOT of followers keeping tabs on Cody and Kelsey’s updates.
Cody has well over 6 million followers on YouTube alone, with another 2.1 million people following his updates on Instagram. Kelsey Kreppel has over 1 million followers on YouTube, with just as many followers on her Instagram profile.
Ms. Kreppel once told the New York Times that “even though I film our day-to-day life and people know a lot of what’s going on with us, Cody and I are really mindful about what we share and what we keep just for us.”
But one aspect of the YouTube power couple’s life is holding headlines these days: their lovely Malibu house recently hit the market (again), and scores of fans around the world are now rejoicing at the opportunity to peek inside Kelsey Kreppel and Cody Ko’s house.
And we have all the dirt on the couple’s beachfront home in Malibu.
Inside Kelsey Kreppel and Cody Ko’s house in Malibu, now listed for $3.7M
The irony isn’t lost on us. About two years ago, Cody posted a video (one that got him well over two million views) hating on celebrity houses.
And since he’s now a top earner on YouTube, successful podcaster, and a magnet for advertisers looking to tap into his large following, he now too qualifies as a celebrity whose house we want to gawk at.
Especially since the content creators’ Malibu house is rightfully touted as “a secluded oasis on the water” (in the listing held by The Agency’s Eric Haskell and Billy Rose).
With amazing ocean views, the 1,786-square-foot beachfront house comes with access to two pristine sandy beaches — on both sides — and some standout amenities like a half-court for basketball, a pickleball court, and space for four vehicles.
Key facts & figures
Bedrooms: 3
Baths: 4
Square footage: 1,786 sq. ft.
Year built: 1970
Lot size: 1,989 sq. ft.
Amenities: a half-court for basketball, a pickleball court, and space for four vehicles
Additional structures: a separate 1-bed, 1-bath guest house
Last sold: $4,495,000
Property photos
This isn’t the first time the content creators tried to offload the property
Property records and previous press coverage shows that Kreppel and Kolodziejzyk first listed the property back in March 2023 for $3,950,000.
The 1,786-square-foot beachfront home then had its price readjusted a couple of months later before being taken off the market.
It has now resurfaced as a $3,695,000 listing, with The Agency’s Eric Haskell and Billy Rose in charge of finding a buyer.
And if you think that’s a hefty price, know that one of the neighboring properties is on the market for a whopping $59 million (and that’s the discounted price, as the Ed Niles-designed masterpiece was previously listed for $68.8 million).
Where do Kelsey and Cody Ko live now?
Back in May 2023, the YouTube power couple upgraded to a 1950-built home nestled in the foothills above Zuma Beach in Malibu that was once owned by actress Reese Witherspoon.
Kelsey and Cody Ko paid $7.7 million for their new Malibu abode, a two-acre spread dotted with mature sycamore trees that has a heavily updated 4-bedroom house, a repurposed barn (with billiards area, a kitchen, bedroom, and a living/media room), another building housing a gym and media room, and an Airstream trailer that sleeps four.
So it’s safe to say that the content creators very much enjoy living in Malibu but they simply outgrew their Pacific Coast Highway property.
>> Add Fancy Pants Homes to your Google News feed. Follow us here! <<
More stories
All the luxe houses MrBeast toured in his “$1 vs $100,000,000 House!” viral video
Joe Rogan’s house in Austin is a $14.4M lakeside retreat
Hype House: the TikTok Mansion Owned by Some of the Internet’s Biggest Stars
Cult films are the gems of movie culture; they evoke a sense of nostalgia, timelessness and individuality that regular blockbusters and top-grossing movies can’t replicate. Have you ever watched a cult classic and felt connected to its peculiar humor, cryptic storyline or unconventional characters? Movies like these aren’t often part of the mainstream, but they tell their own unique stories. We’ve compiled 20 captivating cult classics everyone should watch!
1. Rocky Horror Picture Show
One user posted, “Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
Another user replied, “Nothing quite like a sweet transvestite from trans-xual Transylvania!”
One commenter added, “Sorry, the script called for killing Meatloaf…”
Another Redditor exclaimed, “The OG cult classic.”
2. Evil Dead
One Redditor shared, “Evil Dead.”
Another user replied, “YES!!! I absolutely love the third one. ‘The only things you’re in charge of are Jack and s-, and Jack left town.’”
One commenter added, “Listen up, you primitive screw heads!”
Another shared, “You wouldn’t understand the future. It’s full of molecules and, er …”
3. Heathers 1989
“Heathers 1989!” one user mentioned.
Another user commented, “Underrated answer.”
4. This Is Spinal Tap
One Redditor commented, “This Is Spinal Tap.”
Another user shared, “Lol, funny story. So, a friend of mine had to go to the hospital, and they needed to do a spinal tap on him. The guy f- it up ten times and got it right on the 11th. My friend called me to b-. When I arrived to visit him, I gave him his get well soon gift, This is Spinal Tap on DVD.”
5. Young Frankenstein
One commenter shared, “Young Frankenstein. So quotable!”
Another user commented, “That movie was hilarious.”
One Redditor added, “Blücher!”
6. Repo Man
“Repo Man,” one user shared.
Another replied, “A man’s gotta have a code.”
7. The Room
One Redditor commented, “The Room.”
One user replied, “Oh, hi, Mark!”
8. Snatch
“Snatch,” one user commented.
Another user responded, “‘Got anything to declare?’ ‘Yeah, don’t go to England.’”
9. Clerks
One user shared, “Clerks.”
Another user quoted, “Daa dunn daa dunn daa dunn salsa shark.”
10. A Clockwork Orange
“A Clockwork orange,” posted by one Redditor.
Another user commented, “It’s a bit scarier now than when it first came out because some of what it foreshadowed came true. I remember being in a theatre when it first came out and seeing a sign that talked about how the theatre would not show this film—not because it was violent, but because there was [unclothed people] in it.”
11. Donnie Darko
One Redditor shared, “So many, but for some reason, Donnie Darko was my first thought upon reading your question.”
Another Redditor replied, “That movie is a trip. I need to watch it now and see if it has the same impact.”
12. Office Space
“Office Space,” one Redditor mentioned.
Another user added, “Mother s-, son of a f-!”
13. Crybaby
One user posted, “Crybaby.”
Another user commented, “This is one of my all-time favourites. I hardly ever see it mentioned, even though it’s so wonderfully campy.”
14. Withnail and I
“Withnail and I,” one user posted.
Another user commented, “I can’t believe I had to scroll this far to find Withnail.”
One added, “Dealing with a b- behind the eyes.”
15. Pulp Fiction
One Redditor posted, “Pulp Fiction got a bunch of Oscar nominations (and one win) and massive acclaim in its initial release; it was immediately recognized as brilliant and was the most influential film of the decade it came out in. If that’s a cult classic, the term has lost all meaning.”
One user commented, “That’s my take too. A lot of people think ‘cult classic’ means ‘offbeat movie that isn’t a traditional Hollywood flick in its time, that I love.’ To me, it’s not cult unless it barely got attention when it was released, and hardly anyone outside its niche knows it exists.
“Something like Boondock Saints, Simon, King of the Witches, or Satan’s Sadists would be ‘cult classics.’”
16. Blazing Saddles
One user shared “Blazing Saddles.”
Another user commented, “15 is my limit on schnitzengruben.”
One commenter added, “Mongo like candy.”
17. Forbidden Zone
“Forbidden Zone. It features a younger Danny Elfman in it as the devil. (His brother Richard directed it,)” one user posted.
18. Rosemary’s Baby
One user shared, “Rosemary’s Baby, of course. That was a classic with a cult in it.”
19. Angel Heart
One Redditor shared, “Angel Heart, a very underrated movie. It should have been s-, but it was actually a great movie.”
20. Freaks 1932
“Freaks 1932, everyone’s heard of it, but how many people have actually watched it?” one user shared.
Do you agree with the title listed above? Share your thoughts and comment below!
Source: Reddit.
10 Actors Perfectly Cast for Their Character Roles
Have you ever watched a movie or show and been completely lost in it because of how well an actor or actress became their character? Check out this article for a whole list of actors who were perfectly cast!
11 Vampire Movies That Will Make You Thirst for More
You know that feeling where you’re on a movie kick in a certain genre, but you seem to run out of good movies to watch? Well, if you’re down for a vampire movie or three, check out this article for the best ones out there!
10 Incredible Movies That People Rated 10 Out of 10
It’s pretty hard to replicate the experience of watching your favorite movie for the first time, but we’ve put together a list of movies that people have rated at a perfect 10/10. Next time you need a good movie to watch, check this out!
10 Famous People Who Canceled Themselves With Their Own Stupidity
We’ve all been there: you make a comment you haven’t thought through at all, and the whole room goes silent at what you’ve just said. But can you imagine doing that as a famous person—and getting canceled? Check out this list of celebrities who did just that!
13 Things You Shouldn’t Do When You’re in the US
Are you planning a trip to the US? Culture varies a lot between countries, even countries that share borders. So if you’re headed to the good old U. S. of A, here are a few pointers to make your travels go more smoothly!
Prominent YouTube content creator Jimmy Donaldson — best known as MrBeast — took on the world of luxury real estate, and hundreds of millions of viewers tuned in to watch him tour upscale properties with some of his most famous friends (Justin Timberlake, Mark Cuban, and Miranda Cosgrove).
The YouTuber, who holds the title of the most-subscribed individual on the platform (and also has the second-most-subscribed channel overall), is famous for his viral videos centered around expensive stunts, challenges, and donations.
And he’s set quite a few records since launching his channel in 2013.
In 2017, he released his “counting to 100,000” video — which became his breakthrough viral video — and he has become increasingly popular ever since, with most of his videos gaining hundreds of millions of views.
By 2021, MrBeast was making headlines for breaking the record for the fastest non-music video to reach 100 million views, thanks to his Squid Game-themed video. That video now has over 500 million views.
He’s also known for his charitable endeavors, and for the fact that the more popular he gets, the more money he gives away.
While many have claimed that his monetary giveaways could be the primary reason why he accrues millions upon millions of video views, one of his most recent viral hits debunks this theory.
[embedded content]
On October 14, MrBeast released a new video titled $1 vs $100,000,000 House!, where the YouTuber — alongside his crew and several famous pals — tour homes of different price points, from a $1 shack to a $100 million mansion in Los Angeles (that’s actually worth $139 million).
The video garnered more than 100 million views in its first 10 days and shattered the previous record for the most views within 24 hours — a record that MrBeast himself had set with his “7 Days Stranded at Sea” video — proving to naysayers that giving money away is not the reason behind Donaldson’s success.
Now, since the content crossed the threshold into our turf — the world of luxury real estate — we wanted to provide some background info on the properties featured in MrBeast’s video — including specs, updated prices, photos and more.
And we also got some behind-the-scenes tidbits that the listing agents shared with us, including how long ago the property tours took place, and what type of response they saw after the video launched.
All the luxury homes featured in MrBeast’s “$1 vs $100,000,000 House!” video
While there’s not much to say about the $1 shack that kicked off the video (that one might even be best summarized as “what you see is what you get”), there’s lots to learn about the other striking homes that made the cut. We’ll also skip the $1 million house, as that price point doesn’t necessarily fall into luxury territory in many of the real estate markets we cover.
We talked to some of the agents in charge of the listings featured in the viral video, and they shared their excitement about being part of the project.
“It was a cool experience to be affiliated with Mr. Beast,” says Rachael Williams with Revel Real Estate, who holds the listing for the $15 million property featured in the video. “Apparently this video broke the world record for most views in 24 hours. So essentially being a part of history is pretty awesome! 😎“
Wondering whether it was MrBeast’s team that sourced the houses? We were thinking the same, and it turns out that “Mr. Beast’s team reached out to us to be featured,” Ben Bacal, Founder and real estate agent at Revel Real Estate tells us. “We were told our property might, or might not make the final cut, but it did! And we’re so happy that they included it. “
The agents also told us that filming — at least for some of the properties — took place back in August, despite the final cut being released in October.
Naturally, that also means that some of the prices have changed in the meantime.
The $45 million house was most recently listed for $29.888 million, while the art-filled Malibu home dropped its asking from $69 million to $59 million. And the $100 million house is actually far more expensive in real life. So let’s take them one at a time.
The $100 million house, LA FIN
The focal point of the video, the striking $100 million house MrBeast tours alongside celebrity guest Justin Timberlake is actually a $139 million mega-mansion in Bel Air, California.
Newly built in 2021, the spec mansion is dubbed LA FIN, and is touted as “the pinnacle of homes designed for entertaining at a scale comparable to the best hotels in the world.” And for good reason.
Featuring an impressive total of 12 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms, and a guest penthouse, the luxury abode has an entire array of amenities that you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else, including a 6,000-square-foot nightclub, a unique 6-car elevator that displays the car collection above the nightclub, and an ice-cold vodka-tasting room furnished with fur coats.
Other notable features include a cigar lounge, a cutting-edge gym equipped with Peloton equipment and a rock-climbing wall
The primary bedroom suite of the luxury Bel Air mansion is nestled in its private wing.
Cloaked in Italian oak, the bedroom’s centerpiece is a striking fireplace crafted from Portuguese marble, and has an adjoining bathroom reminiscent of a world-class spa with Calacatta gold marble, a sweeping 100-square-foot shower, and a bathtub sculpted from a singular marble block.
With so many unique features, we could talk about this property all day. But since pictures are worth a thousand words, why not take a closer look inside the ultra-luxurious Bel Air mansion instead (Swipe for more pics):
Price & property history: The $139 million mansion was first listed in February 2022, with Jon Grauman and Adam Rosenfeld (The Agency). And while it has retained its asking price, representation for the property has since changed, with Shawn Elliot or NestSeekers International.
The art-filled $69 million house
Joined by iCarly actress Miranda Cosgrove, MrBeast tours the second most expensive home, a Malibu architectural gem that bears the signature of lauded architect Ed Niles.
The art-filled glass-and-steel house — which we’ve covered in depth here following its recent price adjustment, that brought it from $69 million down to $59.5 million — is propped up on a hill just 75 feet away from water and pairs its excellent oceanfront location with a distinct architecture that makes it one of Malibu’s most impressive real estate offerings.
The avant-garde abode is defined by sharp geometric angles, varied shapes, and out-of-the-box materials like glass, steel, and concrete, all thoughtfully executed and flowing beautifully together.
Featuring 4 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms with a detached one-bed, one-bath guesthouse on 8,206 square feet, the glass-and-steel house incorporates many Feng Shui principles.
Price & property history: Originally listed in March 2023 with an ambitious $68.8 million price tag, the Ed Niles-designed home recently had its price re-adjusted to $59.5 million.
Madison Hildebrand and Jennifer Chrisman at Compass and Wendy Wong and Katherine Quach of Treelane Realty Group are spearheading the home sale.
The $45 million Brentwood house
Our favorite property on this list — though we might be a bit biased, as we’ve written extensively about this mansion before — is a newly built spec mansion in Los Angeles’ family-friendly Brentwood neighborhood.
Toured alongside billionaire Mark Cuban (who lives in an equally impressive luxury mansion), the spectacular property known as Allure is a 14,000-square-foot mansion that’s been carved into the mountainside — an arduous process that included the removal of approximately 680 truckloads of dirt to create over an acre of flat land.
First listed for $45 million (price later dropped to $29.888 million) ‘Allure’ is inspired by “The Greats” across various domains — including elite athletes, top Hollywood stars, influential C-suite executives, and international business tycoons.
And its long (and creative) list of amenities reflects that.
The 7-bedroom, 8-bath home has a movie theater with a Rolls Royce starlight ceiling, two striking living moss walls, a dedicated regulation-sized pickleball court, an NBA-sized half-court sporting a Michael Jordan design, a putting green, and a sanctuary spa with a fitness center and sauna.
The upscale Brentwood mansion was developed by Ramtin “Ray” Nosrati of Huntington Estates Properties, the mastermind behind some of LA’s most affluent homes.
Price & property history: The 14,000-square-foot house was first listed for $45 million. With a revised price of $29.888 million, Allure is listed with Sally Forster Jones and Nicole Plaxen of Sally Forster Jones Group at Compass, Santiago Arana at The Agency, Shauna Walters at Beverly Hills Estates, and Josh and Matt Altman of The Altman Brothers at Douglas Elliman.
Take a closer look inside: This $29.888 million Brentwood mansion is the Michael Jordan of homes
The $30 million mansion with an indoor water park
While most of the houses in MrBeast’s videos are located in California, the $30 million mansion takes us on a trip to Leverett, Massachusetts, to visit a highly unique property likened to “a candy store for adults.”
Known as the Juggler Meadow Estate, the $30 million Massachusetts property is the former home of late Yankee Candle founder Michael Kittredge II and is a local celebrity in its own right (which comes as little surprise after watching the video tour).
With an impressive 120,000 square feet of interior space — split between 8 structures — the compound features a 25,000-square-foot main residence, a 55,000-square-foot spa, an indoor water park, three tennis courts, a three-lane bowling alley, two grotto-like wine cellars, and a 10-seat movie theater, among many other amenities.
Price & property history: The former Yankee Candle founder’s house was listed in the second half of 2022 for $23 million. Popular listing websites like Zillow and Realtor.com still show the same $23 million asking price, while the official listing on the brokerage’s website (the house is repped by Johnny Hatem Jr with The Sarkis Team at Douglas Elliman) says the price is only available upon request.
The $15 million house
While the other luxury houses MrBeast visited strayed a bit from the price point shown in the video, the next property on our list is a true-to-story $15 million home in the Hollywood Hills — with a killer location and spectacular design.
Perched atop the famous Bird Streets (widely known as some of LA’s most desirable streets, (attracting celebrities like Leo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, or Jodie Foster), the 7,217-square-foot contemporary, Ameen Ayoub-designed residence was completed in 2021.
Packed with world-class amenities — including a chef’s kitchen with Miele appliances, an aquarium bar that looks into the infinite pool, a custom-built honeycomb quartz wine cellar, a decoupled home theatre, a subterranean garage, and a state-of-the-art fitness center with a sauna and steam shower — the 3-bed, 5-bath home is pure luxury.
It also has a jaw-dropping primary suite with a fireplace and private terrace, dual bathrooms, and a designer closet.
Price & property history: Listed for $14,900,000 with by Ben Bacal and Rachel Williams of Revel Real Estate, the $15 million was listed in mid-2023, and hasn’t had any price adjustments since.
After being featured in MrBeast’s $1 vs $100,000,000 House! video, the property’s agents share that the Hollywood Hills mansion already received an offer — for a one-year lease. And more will likely follow, as the viral video keeps accruing millions of views.
Which property did you love the most?
*Featured image credit: Fidias, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, Nils Timm / Nils Timm Visuals & Simon Berlyn courtesy of Compass
More stories
Hype House: the TikTok Mansion Owned by Some of the Internet’s Biggest Stars
A Closer Look at Machine Gun Kelly’s house in Los Angeles, Bought from Youtuber Logan Paul
Tour Andrew Rea’s (Binging with Babish) House in Brooklyn
The 85 per cent LTV (loan-to-value) five-year mortgage rate dropped below five per cent for the first time since June — and some expect it could “continue to edge downwards”.
Sitting at 4.99 per cent, the Rightmove numbers came after the Bank of England’s decision last week to hold interest rates for the second time in a row.
Simon Gammon, managing partner at Knight Frank Finance, said the below five per cent mortgage rates would help improve property market sentiment, “but only to a point” as many borrowers are “rolling off deals below 2%”.
He added: “The Bank of England’s decision to hold at 5.25% was largely priced in, and we expect the rate of inflation to be the biggest determinant of whether we see more substantial mortgage rate cuts before the end of the year.”
The typical five-year fixed rates could ease to around 4.5 per cent by the end of the year, Gammon said, if the annual rate of inflation subsides to between four and five per cent as expected by the Bank of England.
“Most borrowers are currently opting for tracker products, taking the view that, even if the Bank does opt to raise the base rate again, they would like to benefit from cuts to the base rate next year,” he said.
Rightmove’s mortgage expert Matt Smith said: “A second consecutive pause is a good indicator that the Base Rate has reached its peak, which will be reassuring to those looking to take out a mortgage soon.
“We’ve now seen the arrival of a sub-5%, 5-year fixed rate mortgage in the important 85% loan-to-value bracket — the deposit size we see for many first-time buyers and home-movers.
Blend futuristic art with immaculate California nature and you’ll get Malibu’s groundbreaking Glass-and-Steel House — if you can shell out $59.5 million, that is.
41800 Pacific Coast Highway’s not-so-humble price point of nearly $60 million includes four bedrooms and six bathrooms with a detached one-bed, one-bath guesthouse on 8,206 square feet of pure architectural excellence.
The unrivaled property is situated on a pristine Malibu beach lot boasting a Harrison Reef tide pool and dramatic ocean and canyon views. Best of all, the location is distinctly private, ensuring its next owner the utmost exclusivity.
An Ed Niles masterpiece
Renowned architect Edward R. Niles, who’s been creating iconic structures since 1979, expertly balanced cutting-edge ideas with timeless elements to create arguably his best endeavor — the Malibu Glass-and-Steel House — which is, in essence, a livable art piece to the likes of the Guggenheim Museum.
The avant-garde abode is defined by sharp geometric angles, varied shapes, and out-of-the-box materials like glass, steel, and concrete, all thoughtfully executed and flowing beautifully together.
In other words, it’s a far cry from your average home.
Feng Shui and Japanese influences
Despite its futuristic appeal, the house still manages to achieve a homey feel by balancing the cold steel and concrete with warm natural elements throughout.
The original owner of the house, Dr. Wei-Tzuoh Chen, was passionate about Feng Shui – and it’s noted in the carefully curated details.
The home’s prime location on a hill just 75 feet away from water adheres perfectly to the ancient Chinese art form’s principles, and its south-facing facade is ideal for balance, harmony, and good fortune.
See also: Alicia Keys’ house in San Diego is a futuristic clifftop mansion
Taking Feng Shui to the next level, architect Niles strategically incorporated the lucky number 8- doubling in meaning as the infinity symbol throughout the house, from its eight separate structures united as one to tasteful sculptures and furnishings highlighting the powerful number that represents abundance.
The notes of red carefully scattered across the grounds also symbolize luck and prosperity, which the future homeowner is bound to have already, considering the property’s eye-boggling price tag.
Niles also tapped into the Japanese architectural Shoji concept of translucency when designing the modern masterpiece, and its influence can be seen in the property’s abundant windows that lend way to striking views of the Southern California coastline.
Even the ceiling is made of glass, giving the interior a bright atrium vibe while filtering in the sunshine.
Now listed for $59.9 million
Originally listed in March 2023 with an ambitious $68.8 million price tag, the Ed Niles-designed home recently had its price re-adjusted to $59.9 million.
Madison Hildebrand and Jennifer Chrisman at Compass and Wendy Wong and Katherine Quach of Treelane Realty Group are spearheading the home sale.
Says Hildebrand, “It’s a rare occurrence where art meets nature. From the moment you arrive, you realize it’s unlike any other property along the Malibu coastline. Every angle, shape, and material was carefully thought out to provide a unique experience. And, being only 25 minutes from the Camarillo airport, it’s perfect for those looking to escape unnoticed.”
Steel beams and floor-to-ceiling glass walls juxtapose the lush canyon surrounding them. But the real magic lies inside.
Enter the private gates and through a minimalist yet dramatic foyer and you’ll be greeted with an open floor plan featuring the main living space and sleek stainless steel Bulthaup kitchen, including Sub-Zero refrigerators, limestone floors, and high-quality cabinetry and furniture designed by the architect himself.
While the main floor is spectacular, the upstairs — which features four en-suite oceanview bedrooms and living spaces and can be accessed by hydraulic elevator — is just as otherworldly and aesthetically pleasing.
This home boasts bragging rights beyond its one-of-a-kind structure and world-class location, though.
Featuring a state-of-the-art music room, a soundproof home theater that seats up to 19 people, and a built-in audio system throughout the structure, it’s also an entertainer’s paradise.
You can effortlessly bring the party outside thanks to the property’s expansive outdoor space with enough room to host over 100 guests.
Between the Japanese soaking tub, conversation fire pit, and barbecue area — all with outstanding vistas of the home’s 75-foot fine sand beach and the breathtaking ocean beyond it — you can bet that no guest will get bored.
One multi-millionaire with almost $60 million to spare will be fortunate enough to call this innovative and tasteful home (and a slice of Malibu Beach) all their own. And we’ll be keeping an eye out to see who the lucky future owner will be.
More stories
Architect Harry Gesner’s personal home, the $22.5M Sandcastle House in Malibu
The Sowden House, an architectural gem with a grim backstory and ties to the Black Dahlia case
The Chemosphere House and 6 other striking John Lautner-designed homes
UK ‘mortgage meltdown’ looms amid ‘terrifying’ growth in arrears
Jump in borrowers unable to make payments with landlords particularly hit and ‘worse to come’
Analysis: will the Bank listen to business and halt rate rises?
Mortgage balances with arrears jumped by 13% in the second quarter of the year to the highest level since 2016, according to Bank of England figures that underscore the stress in the UK mortgage market.
Rising interest rates and unemployment over recent months have put pressure on household disposable incomes, forcing some families to cut or suspend their monthly mortgage payments.
Buy-to-let mortgage payers have also come under pressure in parts of the country where tenants are struggling with the cost of living crisis.
The Bank of England said the total value of mortgage balances which had some arrears rose to £16.9bn, up by 29% on the previous year and the highest since the third quarter of 2016.
Mortgage arrears are based on figures showing the number of borrowers failing to make payments equivalent to at least 1.5% of the outstanding mortgage balance or where the property is in possession.
Mortgage lending was also hit in the second quarter with gross advances falling by £6.3bn to £52.4bn. Year on year, mortgage lending slumped by almost a third, to the lowest level since the worst of the Covid-19 collapse in lending in the second quarter of 2020.
Lewis Shaw, founder of Mansfield-based Shaw Financial Services, told the news agency Newspage a “mortgage meltdown” is approaching, unless the Bank of England changes its approach.
Shaw said: “The speed at which mortgage arrears are increasing is terrifying and should give cause to pause at the next Bank of England interest rate meeting. This is dire data, and we know that it’s about to get an awful lot worse with 1.6m mortgage holders due to renew over the next 12 months at significantly higher rates than anyone has been used to for well over a decade.”
Simon Gammon, managing partner at the finance arm of estate agents Knight Frank, said the proportion of mortgage payers falling behind with payments remained low at just 1%, despite the “sizeable jump in arrears”.
He said: “That’s because the vast majority of outstanding mortgages were issued under the post-global financial crisis regime, which was much more stringent when it comes to affordability.”
However, while homeowners were more likely to make cuts to other spending before falling behind with mortgage payments, buy-to-let landlords may take a different view, he said.
“We are more likely to see arrears in the buy-to-let sector, where landlords face a unique set of challenges. If a landlord finds their mortgage is no longer affordable, or the rent no longer covers their outgoings, they only have two choices – sell or default. If they opt to sell, they may have to wait up to a year for the tenancy to end, unless they are willing to sell with a tenancy in place, which is more difficult.
“Landlords are also more likely to opt to default than those struggling with a mortgage secured against their main residence, so this is an area to watch,” he added.
Incoming Bank of England deputy governor Sarah Breeden said she agreed with her future colleagues on the monetary policy committee (MPC), which sets UK interest rates, that inflation may fall at a slower pace next year than expected, forcing the central bank to keep the cost of borrowing higher for longer than expected.
Breeden, who will replace Jon Cunliffe as the Bank’s deputy governor for financial stability after the MPC’s meeting next week, said there was also a risk that growth and unemployment will worsen.
“I will, after November, be very careful in balancing those two factors: the risk of inflation becoming embedded through more persistent, second-round effects, as well as the impact of tightening coming through,” she told parliament’s Treasury Committee in a hearing convened to approve to her appointment.
“The challenge right now is that wages are high and rising and there is a real risk that second-round effects means that this inflation becomes embedded,” she said, adding that in keeping a lid on inflation, “it is not our intention to cause a recession”.
The MPC is expected to raise interest rates by a quarter point to 5.5% on 21 September, raising the average mortgage payments by £3,000 a year for a household that refinances a 2-year fixed product.
Breeden said she expected inflation to be “around the [Bank of England’s] 2% target in two years’ time”.
BEIJING, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Five of China’s major state banks said on Thursday they will start to lower interest rates on existing mortgages for first-home loans, part of a series of support measures announced by Beijing in recent weeks.
Chinese regulators announced the policy last week to help homebuyers amid growing concern over the health of the world’s second-largest economy and a series of crises in the nation’s property sector.
In separate statements, the mortgage rate move was announced by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) (601398.SS), China Construction Bank Corp (601939.SS), Agricultural Bank of China (601288.SS), Bank of China (601988.SS), and Bank of Communications (601328.SS).
The interest rates of first-home loans will be reduced to floor levels at the time when a home was purchased, coming into effect on Sept. 25, the banks said.
Chinese brokerage China International Capital Corp Ltd (CICC) said it expected the average reduction for first homebuyers’ mortgage rates would be 50 basis points (bps), potentially saving them about 200 billion yuan ($27.31 billion) per year.
CICC estimated that loans to first-time buyers account for about 80%-90% of total outstanding mortgages.
China’s home loans totalled 38.6 trillion yuan ($5.3 trillion) at the end of June, representing 17% of banks’ total loan books.
Currently, the national floor on first-home loans stands at 20 bps below the benchmark lending rate 5-year Loan Prime Rate(LPR) – currently 4.2%. Some big cities carry higher floor rates.
The banks said they will lower the rates from Sept. 25, adding that clients who had fixed mortgage rates or whose mortgages were classified as second-home loans before the new mortgage easing policy in major cities would need to apply for the rate cuts.
The mortgage rate cuts will put more pressure on banks’ margins at a time when the government is expecting them to do more to support the economy. To cushion the impact, banks on Friday cut interest rates on a range of yuan deposits.
It comes amid fears that the property sector, which accounts for roughly a quarter of the economy, could see further turmoil after liquidity stress in leading developer Country Garden (2007.HK) became public.
($1 = 7.3226 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Reporting by Ziyi Tang and Ryan Woo
Editing by Edwina Gibbs, Simon Cameron-Moore and Helen Popper
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Last time I was at an auction with my son Felix it was 1994, and he was in my stomach. Fast-forward the videotape, and he has an advertising job, finance pre-approval and a kerbside spot in front of the bloke auctioning a 1930s flat on Inkerman Street, St Kilda East.
Before proceedings two Sundays ago, we had lunch at the Galleon in St Kilda. Felix, his gorgeous partner Pip, his dad and me. Nervous and pumped, the 28-year-olds mulled tactics. Bid boldly early or wait and suss out what others have in their hand? Just roll with it, the parents said.
Inevitably, we went down the days of yore path about our first home. Buying a place was just what you did then, farewelling rentals along with single life. A Californian bungalow with big backyard and Axminster floral carpet, ours for $122,000 in 1991. Our firstborn Jack came home from hospital there, then we upgraded when Felix – later joined by Sadie – was on the way.
Our winning bid of $172,500 on a fixer-upper in Williamstown was just under double our combined income. Yeah, interest rates were higher and the house needed two renos, but the value still seems miraculous compared to what my kids and yours need to spend versus what they earn if they want to buy a place now.
Now that our three are adults, there’s lots of talk about next steps. Relationships, careers, babies. Like they did as kids, our boys still share mates, a footy team, sense of humour. Both have six-figure salaries. But they’re divided on how to live in one of the most expensive property markets on the planet.
Felix is all about buying. “The Australian dream, Mum, haven’t you heard? Although it’s hard to know if it’s your dream or what society says you should want. But it is what I want.”
Two years ago, Lix got real after a determined spending frenzy that included a tattoo gun and multiple motorbikes. He and Pip created a spreadsheet to map projected and actual savings for a deposit that was more than the total price of our first home.
One night they hosted us and Pip’s parents for dinner at their Footscray rental. Lasagne plates cleared, the real main event was served up: a presentation of their current finances, their goal and what a small chop out from us – to be repaid – would mean.
Advertisement
It was a pretty good investment pitch. The four parents shared a look: this could bring us closer to grandchildren. We were all in. Adam and Denise went further, offering a rent-free room at theirs while the wannabe home owners saved.
Two research findings have struck me in the last weeks. The first: more than two in five first-time buyers need to tap into the bank of mum and dad. The second: renters who don’t buy by their early 30s are less likely to achieve home ownership later in life than their parents’ generation.
That scenario is one of Felix’s drivers. “I see buying as an inevitability, and you may as well just get it out of the way. The alternative is horrible. If you rent forever, what happens when you retire and are renting on the pension, with no housing security?”
Jack works in banking, has an economics degree, understands money. At 30, he’s a renter who “long ago gave up” on owning a home in a capital city.
“Enslaving myself to a bank – yes, I get the irony – is highly unattractive. And housing is completely overvalued, so I don’t see paying a million dollars in interest on an average property as a rational investment.”
Parental financial lifelines are beside the point, says Jack, who asks what relying on generational wealth says about our economic system: “Plus that’s conditional on me then entering a massive debt, which means a worse economic position.”
I love they’re both doing what makes sense to them. Not so great: Pip and Felix missing out at the Inkerman Street auction. It’s like waiting for a bus, we tell them. Another one will be along soon. The hardest bit, the saving, is done.
Kate Halfpenny is the founder of Bad Mother Media.
The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here.
A landslide struck Laguna Beach’s Bluebird Canyon in 1978 — smashing cars, buckling streets and destroying 24 homes. An adjacent swath of earth broke loose in 2005, wiping out 12 more homes.
That wasn’t enough to keep Scott Tenney away. In 2010, Tenney and his wife, Mariella Simon, bought a 15-acre hillside ranch near the disaster area despite the listing warning that the property was on the site of an ancient landslide.
“We knew we’d have to do a bit of terracing and retaining, but California is what it is,” Tenney said. “It’s a dynamic place not just culturally, but geologically.”
Advertisement
From an outside perspective, his might seem a confounding decision. But in Southern California it’s an extremely common one, because that geological diversity, as Tenney calls it, is not just the danger. It’s the allure.
Elevation has long been aspirational here — an escape from the urban flats.
Since settlers first started pouring in from the relative flatness of the East Coast and Midwest, they were captivated by California’s vertiginous landscape. Plein air painters flocked to capture the light of the arroyos. Health seekers sought the clean air of the San Gabriel foothills. Folk rockers found inspiration in Laurel and Topanga canyons. And the moneyed elite started building their houses higher and higher above the basin, forever seeking the trophy perch with the show-off view.
But that perch has always come at the risk of catastrophe. Homes slide into a gulch in Palos Verdes. Fires roar over the Malibu hills. A debris flow kills 23 people and destroys 130 homes in Montecito. Heavy snow traps thousands in the San Bernardino Mountains. And winter storms pull fragile bluffs into a rising sea.
These natural disasters so often occur where the tectonic plates collided and folded into beautiful vistas.
Advertisement
While other regions may face only one main disaster threat — tornadoes in the Midwest, hurricanes on the Gulf and East coasts — California’s extreme topography brings siege from all sides: the ocean, the trees and brush, the sky above and the ground below. And oftentimes, the most attractive areas are some of the most dangerous.
A land of disasters
More and more people are crowding into the Wildland Urban Interface — the zone of transition between unoccupied land and human development. It’s where properties mingle with undeveloped (and often steep) land, and it’s uniquely susceptible to natural disasters.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, this area grows by 2 million acres a year as people fan out to the edges of wilderness in search of affordable houses, more space or simply a break from life in the city. And California holds more homes in this dangerous zone than any other state in the country.
And prices keep soaring. It doesn’t matter if a house sits on stilts on the side of a cliff, if it’s a landslide complex slowly sliding toward the sea, or if it’s predicted to be knee-deep in water in a couple of generations — there will always be a buyer.
As Californians flock to risky areas, disasters take a greater toll. Over the last decade, the state has experienced 20 disasters that each cost at least $1 billion in damage from flooding, wildfire and extreme heat. Those 20 alone combined for 783 deaths, according to National Centers for Environmental Information.
According to the real estate listing database Redfin, the trend is nationwide. Last year, the country’s most flood-prone, heat-prone and fire-prone counties all saw more people move in than out. Redfin researcher Sheharyar Bokhari blames one primary factor: the housing affordability crisis.
“L.A. and most other coastal cities are expensive. With remote work becoming more of an option, people are finding they can have more space and finally afford a home if they move to riskier areas,” he said.
Bokhari said another L.A.-specific factor is development — mainly that there’s not as much being built in the city compared to the more rural areas surrounding it.
He points to the Inland Empire, which is typically more affordable than L.A. County. In Riverside County, roughly 600,000 homes face a high risk of wildfire, the most of any of the 306 high-fire-risk counties in the country. Despite that, the county’s population grew by 40,000 over the last two years.
Even if experts — and common sense — say to stay away from certain areas, Bokhari said that won’t likely happen because local governments aren’t incentivized to push people out.
“These disaster-prone cities need revenue and people paying taxes,” he said. “They just claim that they’ll be more resilient and take more safety measures going forward,” he said.
Where else would I go?
Since moving onto the ancient landslide zone, Tenney and his wife founded Bluebird Canyon Farms, which offers workshops and grows food for local markets. His time is split between that and taming the erosion-prone land beneath the farm.
To combat sliding land, Tenney installed a gravity wall, 200 feet long and 9 feet tall, to retain the hillside. In addition to grading the terrain to make the slopes gentler, he added powerful drainage systems and timber-and-concrete cribbing to keep structures in place.
The work never stops, and Tenney keeps a monthly schedule to keep up with tasks. Clear brush in spring. Clean storm drains in September. Inspect terracing every few months.
Newsletter
Subscriber Exclusive Alert
If you’re an L.A. Times subscriber, you can sign up to get alerts about early or entirely exclusive content.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
“You can run but you can’t hide,” he said, adding that urban centers such as L.A. have their own laundry lists of things to worry about: crime, homelessness, etc. “You won’t experience a wildfire in downtown L.A., but there are plenty of other things to be concerned with.”
Cribbing systems used by Tenney have become commonplace in Portuguese Bend, a small coastal community on the Palos Verdes Peninsula situated on a slow-moving landslide complex. Land moves up to 8 feet a year, and at that rate residents would rather ride the sliding earth toward the sea than sell and move somewhere else.
“I’ll be here until I can’t be here anymore. I’ll slide away with the land,” Claudia Gutierrez told The Times in July after a nearby landslide in Rolling Hills Estates sent a handful of homes careening down a canyon.
You’d think the real estate market in disaster-prone areas would eventually slow down, but there are no deals to be found for house hunters. Longtime residents often stay put post-disaster, and incoming residents consistently pay a premium to live in a scenic, though potentially dangerous, area.
In cities tucked among the foothills of the Verdugo and San Gabriel mountains such as Altadena and La Cañada Flintridge, buying in a high-fire-risk zone might be ever-so-slightly cheaper than buying in a safer place. And buyers pounce.
“My clients try to choose low-fire-risk zones, but if the house in the fire zone is the right price, that is more important,” said Brent Chang of Compass.
When Lisa and Michael McKean got home to Malibu Park from their honeymoon on Nov. 8, 2018, they were so exhausted that they went straight to sleep. The newlyweds didn’t even bother unpacking their suitcases of swimsuits still wet with Caribbean saltwater.
When they woke up, Lisa looked out her back window and saw a 10,000-foot cloud of billowing black smoke.
The Woolsey fire was ravaging the Malibu hills.
The pair grabbed their still-packed suitcases and fled to the Zuma Beach parking lot, where they spent the day surrounded by horses, dogs, cats and neighbors all wondering if their homes would survive.
Theirs, built a year earlier, did not.
“The entire neighborhood burned,” Lisa said. “Everything was black, scorched earth.”
Devastated, the pair spent six months crunching numbers on the cost of rebuilding versus moving. The home that was destroyed had taken four years to approve and three years to build. Their next one could take even longer.
Despite the damage, and despite the ceaseless, inescapable risk of a future fire, they ultimately decided to stay and rebuild.
Cheryl Calvert has lived in Malibu since 1985 and has adapted to a life of fire. To her, the flames are nearly routine.
“Once you make it through your first one, you realize it’s manageable. But you have to plan ahead,” Calvert said.
She keeps two bags packed at all times: one full of goggles and N95 masks and one with dog supplies.
Calvert has experienced plenty of fires during her time in the coastal community, but the worst was the Corral fire in 2007. She was in the driveway as the flames arrived, and she sprayed the corner of her wooden home with a hose as it ignited. Her guesthouse and garage burned down, but the house was saved.
She never considered leaving. Instead, she became more prepared, installing an extra water tank and leaving a pair of shoes by the front door at all times for quick escapes.
“We have to do crazy things, but it’s only crazy for an hour or two every five or 10 years,” she said.
She ran down the usual list of reasons why people move to Malibu: the beautiful landscape, the ocean breeze, the sweeping views. But she said the main reason her and so many of her neighbors stay is because of the community.
“We’re all living near like-minded people who are willing to risk themselves for each other,” she said. “It’s a bunch of hippies. Rich hippies.”
The psychology of staying
A life among the trees, coasts and cliffs is often what lures Californians to disaster-prone communities, but according to experts, the factors that make them stay after a disaster strikes are much more complicated.
Age, race and class can all indicate whether someone is more or less likely to move after experiencing a disaster. For example, Zhen Cong, professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, found that in the wake of tornados, the middle class might be the most inclined to move since the upper class has the resources to stay and rebuild, while the lower class is often trapped and has no other choice but to stay.
Other relocation factors include the level of damage to the home and whether the person owns the place or rents. But often the most important factor is one that can’t be easily quantified: “People who have a strong sense of place and a strong sense of community are less likely to move,” Cong said.
Ironically, some disasters can even encourage people who otherwise would have left to stay.
In studying post-tornado relocation decisions across the country, Cong found that after a disaster, people increase their disaster preparedness. Part of that includes gathering supplies, but it also includes social engagement: talking to neighbors, sharing information on social media and attending meetings. That engagement, which might not happen if a tornado doesn’t strike, brings a greater sense of community, leading people to stay in that community.
Anamaria Bukvic, an assistant professor at Virginia Tech who studies coastal hazards and population displacement, found that after Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast in 2012, non-geophysical factors mattered the most in deciding whether to stay or leave. For example, confidence in adapting to future disasters was a more relevant indicator if someone would stay than how close they lived to the ocean.
“The experience of flooding can be emotionally disturbing and traumatic,” Bukvic said. “When facing problems, some people try to avoid them. Others try to resolve them.”
She added that confidence in government plays a major role as well. If a person believes the government responded well to the disaster and will keep them safe during the next disaster, they’re more likely to stay.
That’s something that Malibu Mayor Bruce Silverstein thinks about when overseeing the city’s disaster response plan. Although L.A. County is responsible for physically fighting the fires that plague the area, Malibu has instituted a free service in which residents can request a fire-hardening expert to inspect their property to better prepare them for the next blaze.
The city also outlaws certain types of vegetation susceptible to fire and tries to prevent excessive population growth in order to make evacuation from hills and canyons easier during emergencies. It’s the main reason accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are harder to build in Malibu than L.A.
“Unlike L.A., we don’t have standards that encourage growth,” Silverstein said. “We maintain the status quo and try to keep space between properties so if one catches on fire, it doesn’t extend to the neighbors.”
Michael Dyer, a former Santa Barbara County fire chief who now serves as public safety director for Calabasas, said safety became a top priority for the city after Woolsey, energizing the community into forming multiple volunteer commissions that plan for disaster preparedness.
“We have to provide that service as a government,” Dyer said while monitoring a brush fire in Topanga from his front porch. “No one has forgotten Woolsey yet. And as long as I’m here, we won’t.”
No simple fix
As the climate crisis worsens and the Wildland Urban Interface grows in size, experts are eyeing ways to mitigate the effects of natural disasters to save both the environment and human lives.
L.A. is currently considering an ordinance that would limit development in the Santa Monica Mountains. Using recent wildfires and the Rolling Hills Estates landslide as examples, supporters said the measure would make it harder to build mansions and large hillside homes as a way to limit damage caused by disasters, as well as protect open space and wildlife.
In addition, national insurers such as State Farm and Allstate are no longer selling insurance policies in wildfire-prone areas after a series of catastrophic fires raised premiums. Without insurance, people might be disincentivized from buying and building homes in risky areas.
Redfin is also tinkering with a way to warn people of a home’s potential dangers. The company conducted an experiment in which it showed a listing’s flood risk score to certain users but not others and found that those who were shown the scores were less likely to bid on the home.
The scores have since expanded to show risk for fire, heat, drought and storms.
In the meantime, Californians continue to build, and rebuild, in disaster-prone areas. Lisa and Michael McKean, whose home burned down in 2018, moved back into Malibu Park in 2021.
As neighbors slowly filter back into the neighborhood, they walk around to measure progress and congratulate those who have returned.
“We used to hate cement trucks and jackhammers, but now we celebrate them,” Michael said. “The cheery sound of construction.”
Investing is a way to increase your wealth based on your risk tolerance and time horizon
The best investments for low-risk investors looking for moderate returns are index funds, government bonds, and high-yield savings accounts
The best investments for high-risk investors that want high returns are individual stocks, real estate, and cryptocurrencies
Investing is one of the best ways to grow your wealth and improve your financial future. One of the keys to finding the best investments is to recognize the power of compound interest. The credit bureau Experian® describes compound interest as “when interest gets added to the principal amount invested or borrowed, and then the interest rate applies to the new (larger) principal.”
There are many ways you can invest, and some investments earn more than others, and some investments are riskier than others. Today, you’re going to learn about the nine best investments in 2023 based on average returns as well as your personal risk tolerance.
The investing information provided is for educational purposes only. We recommend consulting a financial professional before investing.
The best investments
The best investments right now to grow your wealth include:
High-yield Savings Accounts
Short-term Certificates of Deposit (CDs)
Government Bonds
Corporate Bonds
Real Estate and REITs
Individual Stocks
Index Funds
Exchange-traded Funds (ETFs)
Cryptocurrency
1. High-yield Savings Accounts
High-yield savings accounts are similar to a regular savings account, but you’ll often earn more interest by keeping your money in one of these accounts. You can sign up for a high-yield savings account through many banks and credit unions, and some accounts can earn you anywhere from three to four percent annually.
If you have or plan on making an emergency fund, Javier Simon from SmartAsset recommends using one of these accounts. “Anyone looking to open a rainy day or emergency fund that provides a higher-than-average interest rate and high liquidity should consider a high-yield savings account,” writes Simon. You’re saving anyway, so why not make money from storing your funds?
Best investment for: People with lower risk tolerance and who are good at saving. This is one of the safest investments with high returns because many banks are FDIC insured, so even if the economy has a downturn, your money is backed by the government.
Risk level: Very low
How to invest: Banks, credit unions, and online banks
Potential returns: Moderate
2. Short-term Certificates of Deposit (CDs)
When looking for where to invest money, many people turn to certificates of deposit, which are also known as CDs. Like high-yield savings accounts, CDs are another type of account. CDs work by allowing you to deposit your money with the caveat that you don’t withdraw the money for a certain amount of time. Once that time frame expires, you’ll receive your money back as well as the interest.
Best investment for: People willing to store their money for one, three, or five years, which are the average predetermined time frames. Just remember, unlike a savings account, there’s a fee for withdrawing your money early.
Risk level: Very low
How to invest: Banks and credit unions
Potential returns: Moderate returns that sometimes exceed those of high-yield savings accounts
3. Government Bonds
Sometimes, the government needs to borrow money, so they offer people the option to loan them money via government bonds. Like CDs, these bonds are for a specified period, but they provide regular payments. Peoples sometimes use bonds as one of the best passive income investments due to these payments.
One caveat to note is the return on government bonds varies depending on how the economy is doing.
Best investment for: People with a low risk tolerance often buy government bonds. Unless the government fails, there’s not much that will prevent getting your return from this investment. Unlike other investments, government bonds can last for up to 30 years.
Risk level: Very low
How to invest: The United States Treasury or through a stock broker
Potential returns: Low
4. Corporate Bonds
Like government bonds, corporate bonds are loans, but you’re providing that loan to a company. This investment helps companies that need money to invest in new products and expand their business. Since these aren’t backed by the government, they can be riskier because the company may go out of business. Although these have a higher risk, they also have a higher return than government bonds.
Best investment for: Individuals with a higher risk tolerance and are looking for higher returns may want to invest in corporate bonds. These bonds pay out regularly, and they’re a safer investment when buying bonds from large, stable companies that have been around for a while.
Risk level: Moderate to high
How to invest: Stock brokerages
Potential returns: High
5. Real Estate and REITs
One of the investment ideas many people turn to is real estate because it can provide extremely high returns when the housing market is good. The downside is that when the housing market has a downturn, as we saw in 2008, people experience big losses.
Rather than investing in real estate, you can invest in real estate stocks, which are called real estate investment trusts (REITs). These stocks are for companies that own properties like malls, office buildings, and other forms of real estate that generate revenue. These can be slightly less risky but still have some risk due to the nature of real estate.
Best investment for: Those who are looking for high returns or have a diversified portfolio already and can weather some higher-risk investments.
Risk level: High
How to invest: Mortgage broker for real estate and stock brokerages for REITs
Potential returns: High
6. Individual Stocks
Individual stocks are available to everyone, and when the average person buys these types of stocks, they’re known as “retail investors.” You may have heard of retail investors investing in individual stocks during the GameStop stock hype of 2021, which also showed how risky individual stocks can be.
Individual stocks come with a high risk and high reward. Basically, you’re buying a portion of a single company, also known as a share of the company. Numerous factors dictate the price of a stock including the profits or losses of the company as well as speculation of the future of the company.
Best investment for: People who are looking for higher returns and don’t mind the risk may want to invest in individual stocks. These stocks can involve doing a lot of research into a company in order to make a quality decision. It’s possible for single stocks have the potential for large returns and losses. For example, investing in Amazon (AMZN) in 2018 and selling in 2021 would have over a 100 percent return, but buying in 2021 and selling in 2022 would have a 50 percent loss.
Risk level: High
How to invest: Stock brokerage
Potential returns: Low to high
7. Index Funds
Index funds are a type of stock, but rather than owning one stock, you’ll own multiple stocks. These stocks track a specific market, like the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones. When purchasing an index fund, there are often low fees and steady returns. The famous investor and founder of The Vanguard Group, John C. Bogel, popularized investing in index funds. This type of investing is popular because indexes like S&P 500 index funds track the 500 largest companies in the United States.
Best investment for: People who are new to investing as you don’t need to regularly check in and research different companies because index funds track the top companies in the U.S.
Risk level: Low
How to invest: Stock brokerage companies
Potential returns: Moderate
8. Exchange-traded Funds (ETFs)
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are similar to index funds because your single stock has shares of multiple companies, but ETFs are usually for specific industries or categories. For example, ARK Invest is a well-known ETF that often invests in technology companies, and there are other ETFs that have an assortment of bonds, like Vanguard’s Bond Market Index Fund (BND).
Best investment for: People with a moderate level of risk tolerance. ETFs can be thought of as a mix between index funds and individual stocks since they’re riskier than index funds, but they’re less risky than individual stocks because you’re more diversified.
Risk level: Moderate
How to invest: Stock brokerage
Potential returns: Low to high
9. Alternative Investments
Cryptocurrency trading is a hot topic, but many people don’t fully understand how it works. Cryptocurrencies are a digital form of currency that’s traded on a network known as the blockchain. The first cryptocurrency was Bitcoin, and now, there’s an endless number of cryptocurrencies. Many people have become millionaires or billionaires from investing in crypto, but it’s an extremely volatile market, and many more have also lost their life savings.
Currently, there is very little to no regulation around cryptocurrency, and much of the investing involves speculation. Notable investors like Warren Buffett and his business partner Charlie Munger have been highly critical of crypto investing, calling it, “worthless, artificial gold.”
Best investment for: People with a high risk tolerance and can tolerate losing their investment may find high returns with crypto investing.
Risk level: Very high
How to invest: Crypto exchanges
Potential returns: Very high
How to Choose the Best Investments
There’s no single right way to choose the best investments because it’s dependent on your unique situation. To make the best choice for yourself, you’ll need to assess your personal risk tolerance and when you’re hoping to cash out on your investments.
1. Assess Your Risk Tolerance
When it comes to investing, the higher the risk, the higher the reward, but it can also mean bigger losses due to unforeseen circumstances. While looking at the top nine best investments, consider how risky they are and whether or not they’re right for you. If you’re concerned about losing money and simply want steady, average returns from your investments, you may want to choose investments that are lower risk.
2. Gauge Your Time Horizon
An important aspect of investing is when you plan on needing the returns from your investment. Many people invest as a way to save for retirement, but some people invest in order to make money to pursue another goal, like purchasing a new home or going on a big trip. For those with a longer time frame of 10 or more years, you can tolerate making low-risk investments with steady returns. If you need the returns sooner, you may want to look into taking more risks.
A simple way to invest based on your time horizon is to use target date funds. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission describes target date funds as being “designed to be long-term investments for individuals with particular retirement dates in mind.” With this type of fund, you set the date you plan on retiring or selling your investments, and it will automatically adjust for risk.
3. Recognize Your Personal Investment Knowledge
Investing does come along with some risks, and these risks vary depending on which type of investing you do. For example, investing in a high-yield savings account is much less of a risk than investing in individual stocks. As a way to minimize your risk and be fully aware of the risks you’re taking, it’s helpful to educate yourself further on each investment and gauge your personal knowledge.
There’s always room to grow your investing and personal finance knowledge. Even the greatest investors in the world continue to learn as much as they can about investment strategies.
4. Assess How Much You Can Budget for Investing
When getting started on your investment journey, it’s often a good idea to minimize your debts as much as possible before creating a budget. For example, if you have a high amount of credit card debt, the interest you’re paying will counteract the money you’re putting into different investment opportunities.
Once you have minimal debt, you can create a budget to see how much you can invest each month. With many of the investments covered here, you can set up automatic investments to make the process a little easier as well.
Best Investments: FAQ
Now, you know about various investments as well as the risk associated with each one. The following are some additional frequently asked questions to help you get started with investing.
What Is Compound Interest?
Compound interest is when the money you make from interest starts making you additional money as well. For example, with a 10 percent interest rate, $1,000 would make you $100. The following year, you’d earn 10 percent interest on $1,100 because that extra $100 you earned will earn interest as well.
Without investing anything else, your original $1,000 investment will be more than double your original investment in 10 years.
Which Investment Gives the Highest Returns?
Investments that have the highest return opportunities include real estate, individual stocks, and alternative investments like cryptocurrencies. Just be sure to keep in mind that these investments also come with the most risk.
Is It OK to Invest During Times of Uncertainty?
Investing during uncertain times can bring better-than-average returns later on. Marcus by Goldman Sachs recommends taking the long view when making your investments. Even during a bad economy, historical data shows that it eventually recovers. You’ll just need to assess your risk and decide if you can weather the storm until it rebounds.
Should You Invest with Bad Credit?
Investing is a way to save for your retirement or future purchases, and it can increase your overall net worth. If you have bad credit or a lot of debt, it may be best to wait on investing because that money could go to paying off debt, improving your credit, and increasing your financial security.
If you need help improving or repairing your credit score, allow Credit.com to help. We have services like ExtraCredit, and we can also provide you with a free credit report card. We’ll be there to help you learn how to improve your credit as well as other ways to increase your wealth, so sign up today!