Cities with fewer than 200,000 residents grew faster than larger metropolises between 2017 and 2018 as high housing prices chased many people away from big cities and their closest suburbs.

With homeowners staying in their homes longer these days, it’s no surprise that they’ve dropped a lot of cash on big-ticket home improvements in recent years. But new research suggests homeowners are pumping the brakes on how much they’ll shell out for remodeling projects this year.

Do you daydream about a large and luxurious master bath?

While a modern ranch house on the shores of Lake Wissota looks like it’s brand new, the home is actually a top-to-bottom remodeling of a modest 1950s-era lakefront cabin.

An old-fashioned covered porch along with a brick exterior gives curb appeal to this four-bedroom, three-bathroom home design.

Home-price growth is cooling, and that’s good news for buyers.

Glass fills nearly twice as much space as opaque walls on the rear of the Deerhorn, a home designed to usher in lots of natural light.

As Bay Area university students and professors struggle to find housing near their campuses, plans to build more homes at UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley are facing courtroom challenges that threaten to bog down the projects in delays.

The Greenridge 5 (407-57) is a single-level triplex with two bedrooms and two baths in each unit.

Paying off a mortgage is a huge accomplishment, and it’s a cornerstone of financial independence. Homeowners who don’t want the shadow of a mortgage payment hanging over them for decades are eager to map out a strategy for tackling their mortgage debt for good. But other homeowners might be …

Dear Jessica: My Christmas cactuses are almost in full bloom. Both plants are about 40 years old and are in need of repotting and new soil. Any help on how to and when to do this would be greatly appreciated.

The Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra will tune you into the holiday spirit today with its annual Christmas Stroll.

MINNEAPOLIS — Jacque Foust remembers heading up the driveway, searching the landscape for the house his real estate agent had promised to show him.

A growing family looking for a first home need not look further than the 1,145 square foot Oxbow design. 

The Palm is a design for a mid-sized home that wraps around a lush entryway courtyard.

PERRY HALL, Md. — On any given day, the backyard of Christopher Schafer’s Perry Hall home resounds with laugher, chatter and a repeated rolling and rhythmic clank.

The Palestrina design features a single-level home that is suited to the needs of singles, empty nesters and families with young children.

Sandy Tremain and her husband, Jeff, bought her 1960s Deerfield, Ill., home in 2008. Back then the four-bedroom home with pink bathrooms, galley kitchen and vintage appliances worked just fine.

The garden catalogs are now pouring into mail- boxes. 

SAN DIEGO — Buying a brand-new home offers many advantages over purchasing resale, and one of the most important is that new houses are designed for the way people live today. Homebuyers are looking for open, flexible spaces to suit a more casual lifestyle — and builders are paying attention.

One of the most exciting parts of buying a brand-new home is picking out the cabinets, flooring, fixtures and finishes to make it your own. Going into a designer showroom is like being a kid in a candy shop, and there’s a lot to choose from.

Spring just began, and we’re all starting to think about the work we need to do inside and outside of our homes. 

With a modest 1,070 square feet, the floor plan of the Rapids design delivers more for your money than many larger homes.

When Annemarie Kill and her husband, John Duffy, bought their first house in Chicago’s Galewood neighborhood in 2003, the duo knew it needed some cosmetic work — in fact, they were excited to redo the bathrooms and kitchen to make the home their own.

Multipurpose cookware company Instant Pot has issued a recall following reports of one of its products overheating and melting, according to a post from the company in the Instant Pot Community Facebook group.

Wide and spacious, the Sophora house design features a large yet relaxed single level, four-bedroom home, designed for construction on estate-size acreage. This plan spans more than 115 feet.

The design of the Kerry house will have the neighborhood looking on with envy. The 4,833 square feet of this modern home is an octagon shape with a dog leg to the right. 

Just in case you needed a legitimate excuse to be messy, there’s a new study that says cleaning may actually be bad for your health.

The biggest trend in kitchen remodels is tidiness, according to home improvement and decorating website Houzz’s survey of more than 1,700 homeowners who use the site nationwide and are either planning a remodel, are in the middle of one or have just completed an update.

From do-it-yourself projects to a seminar about making better use of space, there are options for different interests at this year’s Chippewa Valley Home Builders Association’s Home & Garden Show.

Hans and Kyleigh Grafstrom were recently married and just had a baby when they decided to buy a house. Not just any house, though; they wanted a fixer-upper to flip.

You have taken the brave first step of deciding to pursue homeownership in 2018.