Jeff Bezos is Washington, DC's newest resident.

The billionaire founder of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post has been revealed as the buyer of a pair of mansions in the Kalorama section of DC, according to the Post, who cited a source familiar with the deal.

The property totals 27,000 square feet, and Bezos reportedly intends to turn it into a single-family home, the largest in Washington, DC. The deal closed for $23 million on October 21, with the buyer named as Cherry Revocable Trust. It was most recently listed for $22 million. 

The homes sit in the Kalorama section of DC, a popular destination for well-heeled Washington residents. The Obamas will move to a house in the neighborhood after the president leaves office on January 20, and Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's newly purchased DC home sits just a stone's throw away.

Bezos has an estimated net worth of $69.5 billion.

The Post notes that Bezos and his family will likely use the space as a pied à terre, maintaining his primary residence in Washington state. Renovation plans are currently under review by the neighborhood historical commission.

SEE ALSO: A look inside the exclusive Washington, DC, neighborhood where the Trumps and Obamas will live as neighbors

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The property includes two historic mansions that were sold together in 2015 for $19 million, and then again in 2016 for $23 million, reportedly to Bezos.

The homes were most recently listed together for $22 million.

They were used as part of a textile museum until 2013, when the museum moved to George Washington University's campus in Foggy Bottom.

When an apartment or penthouse isn't big enough for wealthy New Yorkers, they get creative.

In recent years, a number of them have combined multiple townhouses or building floors to create supersized homes, or Frankenmansions, as New York magazine's S. Jhoanna Robledo calls them.

To construct these Frankenmansions, some prospective buyers purchase multiple buildings at once, while others approach their neighbors to offer multimillion-dollar buyouts. (In either scenario, they need the city's subsequent approval before combining properties.)

Check out these nine Manhattan Frankenmansions owned by big names — including Madonna, Sean Parker, and Sarah Jessica Parker — outlined below in red.

SEE ALSO: 7 billion-dollar mega-projects that will transform New York City by 2035

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Frankenmansion is nearly complete.

Bloomberg has bought five of the six apartment units in the building next to his 7,500-square-foot townhouse over the last two decades. After connecting the floors in 2009, he grew his home to 12,500 square feet, according to The New York Post. The buildings are within steps of Central Park.

A $19.75 million pair of townhouses is currently on the market.

The Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, an NYC-based convent of nuns, acquired the townhome on the right in 1948. Four years later, the group bought the one next door and connected them via a doorway on each floor.

Throughout the years, the order has rented some of the complex's 25 bedrooms to other congregations or young women in need. But the Frankenmansion may soon find a new owner — the 15,600-square-foot space went on the market for $19.75 million in 2016, according to the New York Times.

Sarah Jessica Parker lives in a pair of twin townhouses worth $34.5 million.

The star of Sex and the City snatched the two brick townhouses above from the nonprofit United Methodist Women, then fused them together. The organization listed the pair of buildings (which were not connected) for $44 million in 2016, but Parker paid $34.5 million, according to The Real Deal. 

The 13,900-square-foot mansion includes nine bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a 2,100-square-foot private garden, and five floors.

Turkey has changed its law to offer citizenship to foreigners who buy property worth at least $1m in the country.

The decree on the changes published in Turkey's Official Gazette on Thursday also grants citizenship to foreigners who make a fixed capital investment of at least $2m, keep at least $3m in a bank account for at least three years or create at least 100 jobs in the country.

Ugur Civelek, a Turkish economist and columnist, said the changes mainly sought to increase property sales, a crucial part of the Turkish economy and a financial sector suffering from excess supply.

"The excess supply in the real-estate market creates vulnerabilities in the country's financial sector. The real estate's share in total bank loans is very large and keeps on increasing. A sharp fall in the real-estate business might push Turkish economy into debris," Civelek told Al Jazeera.

Turkey's real-estate sales increased 4.5 percent to 1.2 million properties in the first 11 months of 2016 over the same the same period of 2015, according Turkey's official statistics agency, TUIK.

However, the sales of properties to foreigners saw a 19 percent decrease in the first 11 months of the year, dropping from 20,607 to 16,727.

In both years, Iraqis, Saudis, Kuwaitis and Russians bought the highest number of properties.

Analysts say the drop in sales to foreigners is a direct result of the security concerns in the country.

Turkey, a tourism hotspot that historically attracted foreigners, has experienced a bloody year of attacks that have left hundreds dead and put the country on high alert.

Kurdish armed groups and suspected Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) fighters have been blamed for the bombings and gun attacks.

The country also saw a failed coup attempt in July that killed 240 people.

Turkish lira loses value

The timing of the decree corresponds with a period when the Turkish lira depreciated significantly against the US dollar in a short period of time.

The lira dropped more than 10 percent against the dollar in the first 12 days of the year on top of the 17-percent slump recorded in 2016.

Civelek said the government sought to use the citizenship offer, at a time when the lira is losing value, to increase sales to foreigners.

"With this move, Turkey aims to attract more foreign financial resources, which it is lacking, into the country and ease the excess supply of real estate.

"In terms of foreign currency, the real-estate prices have decreased significantly in Turkey [because of the fall of lira]. The expectation is to attract demand in such an environment," he said.

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Land sales in Manhattan ground to a halt last year with just under $3 billion worth of transactions in 2016, down 74 percent from the previous year.

Cushman & Wakefield data show the number of transactions fell off by nearly 40 percent. Banks have become wary about financing land acquisitions and construction amid concerns about an oversupply of residential units in the borough, especially for high-end luxury condominiums.

One thing Cushman’s data, which was cited by Crain’s, doesn’t show is a drop-off in pricing. Bob Knakal, chair of the brokerage’s New York investment sales group, said that’s because among the relatively fewer transactions that closed last year, sellers were able to achieve top dollar for their properties.

“The fewer deals that did get done were at healthy prices because the seller got the number they were looking for,” Knakal said. “It disguises the fact that overall land values have dropped.”

Knakal said future closings will reflect a drop in values. Land that may have traded for $800 per square foot a year ago, for example, are now valued at about $600 per square foot, or roughly 25 percent cheaper.

“It takes a while, a year to 18 months, before sellers get used to the new reality and begin selling at the new market prices,” Knakal said. [Crain’s]

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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently purchased the biggest home in Washington, DC. The home consists of two separate properties Bezos plans on converting into a one-family mansion.

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People often assume that New Yorkers live in shoe-box–sized apartments.

But Manhattan's first (and only) official micro-apartment building at Caramel Place takes small to a new level. The units have less space than an average studio — but they're much better designed. The idea is that the minimalist, chic design makes ultra-tiny living possible.

Designed by nArchitects, Carmel Place recently won a prestigious 2017 Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects, the US' biggest architecture association. On January 13, the jury announced that "Carmel Place represents a new housing paradigm for the city's growing small household population."

Completed in early 2016, the units at Carmel Place range from 260 to 360 square feet. For comparison, the average Manhattan studio is twice that size, and a standard one-car garage is about 200 square feet.

To make the limited square footage more livable, developer Stage 3 Properties enlisted the help of the lifestyle design company Ollieand Screech Owl designer Jacqueline Schmidt. The team meticulously designed 17 of the 55 units with space-saving furniture and accessories.

Unlike most apartments in Manhattan, the ones at Carmel Place are designed from the ground-up for minimalist living, Schmidt told Business Insider. In June 2016, when Carmel Place's first residents moved in, I spent a night in a 308-square-foot furnished apartment.

Here's what happened.

SEE ALSO: The 11 best new buildings designed by American architects

Carmel Place is located in Kip's Bay, a neighborhood on the east side of Manhattan near the East River.

The nine-story building features 55 units. The first 36 tenants moved in June 1, 2016, Ollie co-founder Andrew Bledsoe told Business Insider.

About half of the building's studios are furnished by Ollie. The service also includes WiFi, cable, and subscriptions to the events club Magnises and the butler service Hello Alfred.

Every week, a Hello Alfred employee makes the bed, changes the linens, grocery shops, mails packages, replenishes household staples, and drops off laundry and dry cleaning.

Depending on whether the apartments include Ollie's amenities, monthly rents range from $2,450 to $3,000.

When I walked in, the apartment looked stunning. The majority of the furniture was white, which made the room seem a lot larger.

The owner of an unassuming property in Queens, New York, is betting that a brief connection with President-elect Donald Trump will provide a happy return.

The two-story, Tudor-style home where Trump once lived as a child will hit the auction block on January 17.

The home is unremarkable except for its historical link to the president-elect, but that fact is key, the auction company's principal auctioneer told The New York Times.

"It's unique, and it has intangible value that goes beyond just the physical real estate," Paramount Realty USA's Misha Haghani told the Times. "You're not actually getting anything of tangible value for the Trump association."

The auction is blind and does not have a target price. The property was originally put up for sale for $1.6 million in 2016, though that price was later reduced to $1.2 million. The listing was taken down due to lack of interest, according to the New York Post, and the previous owners, Isaac Kestenberg and his estranged wife, Claudia, planned to auction it off in October 2016. It later sold to its current owner, real estate prospector Michael Davis, for $1.25 million in December.

Before this, the home last changed hands in 2008, when it was purchased for $782,500.

SEE ALSO: See inside the $5.5 million Washington, DC, home where Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are reportedly moving

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Donald Trump's childhood home is situated in the neighborhood of Jamaica Estates in Queens, New York.

The petite 40' x 120' suburban lot fits in with the rest of the neighborhood.

The rear of the Tudor-style home includes a sun porch.

Another year, another price chop for Celine Dion's extravagant Jupiter Island property.

The price for the lavish house now stands at $38.5 million after a series of price chops over the last four years, according to The Wall Street Journal. It was originally asking $72.5 million in 2013.

The singer had previously lowered the price to $45.5 million after her husband, René Angélil, died last year.

Dion and her late husband bought the lot for $12.5 million in 2005 and the adjacent mansion for $7 million in 2008. They then razed the existing home to build the current spread.

The 5.5-acre property has views of the Atlantic Ocean, a four-bedroom guesthouse, a simulated golf range, pool house, and three separate pools. The main residence alone measures close to 10,000 square feet, with five bedrooms and a custom-designed walk-in closet. That closet even has an automated rack for clothing, as well as an automated carousel for shoes. 

Dion is selling the property because she spends most of her time in Las Vegas, where her residency at Caesars Palace will continue until 2019, according to the WSJ.

Cristina Condon of Sotheby’s International Realty now has the listing.

Megan Willett contributed to a previous version of this post.

SEE ALSO: Jeff Bezos reportedly just dropped $23 million on the biggest home in Washington, DC — see inside

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Welcome to Celine Dion's 5.5-acre compound on Jupiter Island in Florida.

The singer is selling the property for $38.5 million.

Source: Sotheby's International Realty

She and her late husband custom-designed the property themselves after buying two lots and razing one of the existing homes.

A new home built on speculation in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles is asking an earth-shattering $250 million. According to its website, it's the most expensive home ever listed in the US.

And it's certainly unlike any other home on the market. The mansion is built in a contemporary style, with stark geometry and huge plate-glass windows.

The home also comes outfitted with furniture, but it's not your standard Restoration Hardware package. It seems it was built with a very specific person in mind — a person who likes decommissioned decorative helicopters, gigantic Leica camera sculptures, velvet-roped lounge areas, and plush decorations that were purchased from Hermès.

As for the living spaces, there are two master suites, 10 "oversized VIP" suites for guests, 21 bathrooms, three separate and fully equipped kitchens, and no fewer than five bars.

It was built by the luxury developer Bruce Makowsky, whom the release refers to as the "spec king." He was also the mastermind behind the $70 million Beverly Hills house sold to Minecraft founder Markus "Notch" Persson in 2014.

"This home was curated for the ultimate billionaire who wants the best of everything that exists in life," Makowsky said in a release announcing the listing. "Until now, the ultra-luxury market was void of homes that even came close to matching the level of mega-yachts and private jets that billionaires spend millions of dollars on every year."

SEE ALSO: See inside the $5.5 million Washington, DC, home where Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are reportedly moving

The sheer footprint of the mansion, spread across 38,000 square feet, is a sight to behold. The exterior decks alone are 17,000 square feet. Downstairs is a car park filled with over $30 million worth of collectible automobiles — all of which are included in the purchase.

Situated on a hill, the house has a 270-degree view overlooking the LA area — one of its defining features.

Inside is where things get a little bit funky. The decor is not your typical boilerplate luxe style.

Mark Zuckerberg paid close to $100 million for 700 acres of beachfront property on the island of Kauai in 2014.

Now the Facebook billionaire is suing a few hundred Hawaiians who still have legal-ownership claims to parts of his vacation estate through their ancestors, as first reported by the Honolulu Star Advertiser.

Three holding companies controlled by Zuckerberg filed eight lawsuits in local court on December 30 against families who collectively inherited 14 parcels of land through the Kuleana Act, a Hawaiian law established in 1850 that for the first time gave natives the right to own the land that they lived on.

The 14 parcels total just 8.04 of the 700 acres Zuckerberg owns, but the law gives any direct family member of a parcel's original owner the right to enter the otherwise private compound. Only one of the parcels is being used, by a retired professor named Carlos Andrade, who has joined Zuckerberg as a coplaintiff in the lawsuits.

The quiet-title suits filed are designed to identify all property owners and give them the ability to sell their ownership stakes at auction, according to Keoni Shultz, an attorney representing Zuckerberg. Because the ownership stakes are passed down and divided among family descendants by the state, many people don't realize they have a claim until action is taken against them in court.

“It is common in Hawaii to have small parcels of land within the boundaries of a larger tract, and for the title to these smaller parcels to have become broken or clouded over time," Shultz told Business Insider in a statement. "In some cases, co-owners may not even be aware of their interests. Quiet title actions are the standard and prescribed process to identify all potential co-owners, determine ownership, and ensure that, if there are other co-owners, each receives appropriate value for their ownership share.”

This isn't the first time that Zuckerberg has taken steps to fortify his Kauai property. Last year he angered neighbors by constructing a rock wall that blocked their views of the ocean.

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January 19 is Barack Obama's last day in the White House. After the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, he and his family will be on their way to Palm Springs for vacation.

When they come back to DC, they will be settling into a home in the Kalorama section of DC, as Politico reported back in May.

It's not the White House, but it'll do.

Though smaller than the Obamas' former Pennsylvania Avenue address, the house is still a lavish residence in a desirable neighborhood. It was built in 1928, and it has 8,200 square feet and nine bedrooms. The move-in process has already begun.

Both Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and the family of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner can be counted as the Obamas' new neighbors in Kalorama, as both have also recently purchased homes in the neighborhood.

The Obamas will lease the home from Joe Lockhart, who served as press secretary in President Bill Clinton's White House, until their younger daughter, Sasha, finishes high school. It was listed for sale at $5.3 million before going off the market in May.

SEE ALSO: This outrageous $250 million mansion in LA comes with a 4-lane bowling alley and an entire collection of cars

The Obamas are trading white for brick at their newly leased mansion in the Kalorama section of DC. More recent photographs show brick pillars have been constructed, flanking the path up to the front door.

It's gated and private, though it sits close to the road.

The gated driveway has plenty of space for Secret Service vehicles.

924 Bel Air Road is being listed for $250 million, considered the most expensive home for sale on the US market according to its website. Complete with a bowling alley, a $30 million car collection, and a helicopter, this 38,000-square-foot mansion is nothing but over-the-top.

It was built by the luxury developer Bruce Makowsky, the man behind the $70 million Beverly Hills house sold to Minecraft founder Markus "Notch" Persson in 2014.

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Buying a home that needs extensive remodeling can fetch a handsome discount, but it depends a lot on where you're looking to buy.

In much of America the discount won't make up for significant renovation costs. The average fixer-upper in the US only nets a decrease of 7.6% from the median list price, which works out to just $11,000 in cash savings, according to analysis from real estate marketing firm Zillow. 

But in some cities, homes needing work offer savings of two to three times that much. Zillow analyzed 70,000 listings of fixer-uppers across the country — identified using key words like "fixer-upper,""TLC," and "good bones"— and compared list prices to estimated market values to determine which metro areas provide the best deals.

Expensive markets, where even a modest percentage discount amounts to significant savings, tended to provide the most value on the median fixer-upper home: Cash savings averaged $54,000 in San Francisco and $38,000 in San Jose, the two highest figures on Zillow's list.

Business Insider rounded up the top 10 metro markets from the study, ranked by the average amount of money saved.

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10. Portland, Oregon

Cash savings: $19,000

Fixer-upper discount: 7.3%

9. Virginia Beach, Virginia

Cash savings:$19,000

Fixer-upper discount: 13.1%

8. Chicago, Illinois

Cash savings: $19,000

Fixer-upper discount: 13.8%

It's common practice for high-end condo buildings to tout all kinds of amenities to attract buyers. But 443 Greenwich, a luxury building in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York, claims to have an entirely different perk: it's apparently "paparazzi proof." 

While the building's management can't comment on the identity of its residents, it has been reported that the building's "paparazzi-proof" architectural features — such as its lower-level parking and interior courtyard garden — have proved attractive to high-end clients who value their privacy.

Jennifer Lawrence reportedly looked into buying property there, and Mike Myers purchased a $14.65 million loft in the building earlier this month. However, just a week later, Myers put it back on the market with a slightly higher price of $15 million.

According to real estate agents at Cantor-Pecorella, 66% of the units have been sold, and 50% are currently occupied. As for the eight penthouses, two are still available — one of which is listed for $27.5 million, the other for $55 million. Prices for the lofts range from $3.5 million to $14.5 million.

Ahead, take a look inside one of the building's gorgeous four-bedroom condos.  

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Built in 1882, the 443 Greenwich building was originally a book bindery. Today, it's a landmarked building with 53 residential condominiums, including eight penthouses.

Calling itself "paparazzi-proof," the building's privacy has been a big draw for celebrity buyers. Jennifer Lawrence considered a space here, and actor Mike Myers reportedly purchased — then put back on the market — a $15 million condo in January.

Source: Curbed

One of the building's major privacy-geared benefits is its lower-level lobby and parking space, guarded by wrought-iron gates. The building has on-site valet parking.

Joe and Ali Olson spend their days traveling around the world with their one-year-old daughter, Annabelle.

Each in their early 30s, the couple were able to quit their jobs as public school teachers in August 2015 and retire after just eight years in the workforce.

How do you retire early as a public school teacher? The key: minimizing cost of living and finding a good side hustle. 

The Olsons met in 2004 when they were both college students, and got married during winter break of their senior year. Straight out of college they moved to Las Vegas, where Joe had accepted a teaching position with Teach For America. Ali started as a substitute teacher and eventually joined TFA as well, teaching English at a local high school.

"Luckily, Las Vegas has a really low cost of living — but it also has a low teacher pay," Ali told the Mad Fientist on an episode of his "Financial Independence Podcast."

So they took on any extra jobs they could — teaching summer school, running clubs, after-school tutoring — to bulk up their salaries. "It's a big difference percentage-wise because if you're making $35,000, and you teach summer school for $3,500, it's like, 'Wow, there's a 10% boost in my salary,'" Joe explained.

Some years, they were able to boost their income by as much as 50% through these supplemental positions.

Eventually, the couple realized they wanted to achieve financial independence and have the freedom to pursue whatever dreams they wanted, whenever they wanted. They continued to live frugally, saving around 75% of their teaching incomes, and in 2008, they bought their first rental property in Vegas.

In the following couple of years, the couple scooped up 14 more rentals. Though they lost money on these during the financial crisis, the market eventually turned and their properties starting bringing in steady profits, eventually pushing their net worth over $1 million.

Now, they're completely financially independent, traveling the world with Annabelle in tow, and occasionally sharing their experiences on their blog, Adventuring Along. Read on to see how they did it. 

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The Olsons graduated from college with a combined $30,000 in student loans to pay off — no small amount, but not as much as it could have been, thanks to the low tuition costs of their public, in-state college and assistance from relatives. But they lived frugally and made consistent payments, quickly watching that number shrink.

In 2007, Joe and Ali bought their Las Vegas condo at a steep discount. At the end of 2008 — amid the financial crises when housing prices were battered — they also purchased a rental property nearby and started trying to turn a profit. It didn't work out at first, and they took a financial hit.

"It seemed like a good deal because the price of the property was $120,000, and at the peak, it had sold just two years before for $360,000," Joe said. "But then the prices kept falling. And it kept falling in 2009 in 2010. And that property actually bottomed out being worth around $80,000. So we were under water on it, but we were still making money every month because the rent was higher than the mortgage payment by a decent amount."

A new home built on speculation in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles is asking an earth-shattering $250 million.

And it's a doozy. Full of splashy art and high-end furniture, the home is truly unlike any other property on the market. It was built by the luxury developer Bruce Makowsky, whom the release refers to as the "spec king." He was also the mastermind behind the $70 million Beverly Hills house sold to Minecraft founder Markus "Notch" Persson in 2014.

Here are some of the most outrageous facts about the home that, according to a press release from the developer, is the most expensive to ever be listed in the US.

SEE ALSO: This outrageous $250 million mansion in LA comes with a 4-lane bowling alley and an entire collection of cars

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1. At $250 million, the home is the most expensive ever offered for sale in the US, according to a press release announcing its listing.

2. It took four years and 250 people to build.

3. It covers 38,000 square feet — that's over 14 times larger than the average new home constructed in the US in 2015.

Source: AEI

With mall traffic declining steadily, department store giant Macy's is looking to downsize to a more defensible footprint. Back in August, the company announced plans to close about 100 stores. Last week, it identified about two-thirds of the locations that will be shuttered. Most of those will close within the next few months.

The main goal of closing stores is that it will better align Macy's brick-and-mortar footprint with consumer shopping trends. However, a secondary benefit is that these store closures will free up a lot of excess real estate that Macy's can sell. That process has already begun and is likely to continue at a rapid pace this year.

Stores aren't all equal

The quality of Macy's real estate spans a wide range. At one end of the spectrum, Macy's sprawling flagship store in Manhattan is probably worth billions of dollars. At the other end, Macy's owns some stores in dead or dying malls that are virtually worthless. For example, it recently unloaded one store in Springfield, Ohio, for the paltry sum of $200,000.

A few of the stores that Macy's is closing this year are getting the ax specifically because they are sitting on valuable real estate. Selling these will generate the vast majority of Macy's real estate proceeds. On the other hand, most of the stores slated for closure are located in subpar malls and thus aren't worth very much.

Macy's starts selling its downtown real estate

In the past three months, Macy's has made big progress in selling off some of its city-center real estate. In November, the company announced that it would sell the building containing its men's store in San Francisco for $250 million in a deal expected to close this month. It will lease back the space for two or three years while it moves the men's department into its main San Francisco store across the street.

At the same time, Macy's also disclosed that it had signed a contract to sell its downtown store in Portland, Oregon, for $54 million. That store will close in the next few months.

More recently, Macy's decided to close its Minneapolis flagship store and sell that building. Terms of the deal haven't been officially announced, but the sale price was a little more than $40 million, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

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Move over, New York and San Francisco.

Real estate company Redfin recently released its list of the hottest neighborhoods of 2017, and locales in city-adjacent towns such as Oakland, California, and Bellevue, Washington, dominated over their urban counterparts.

The ranking looked at neighborhoods that experts expect to become up-and-coming hotspots, and highlights a growing trend: Homebuyers want the amenities of both suburban and city life. They're looking for big, renovated houses minus the price tag a place in the heart of a major city would bring. 

"While many of 2017's hottest neighborhoods come with longer commutes, Redfin agents say they offer homebuyers the best balance of everything: quick access to public transit, trendy shopping and dining options, plus larger move-in ready homes with charm and price tags that are a little easier to bear," the report states.

To predict what will be the hottest neighborhoods of 2017, Redfin measured neighborhood growth by analyzing the number of pageviews from visitors to Redfin.com and the number of homes favorited by users on the site. Redfin also consulted local agents to confirm which areas are heating up in popularity. 

From turn-of-the-century homes outside New Orleans to Silicon Valley-adjacent pads in Sunnyvale, California, read on to see the hottest neighborhoods for 2017.

SEE ALSO: The 25 most expensive ZIP codes in America

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10. Tremé — New Orleans

Median sale price: $199,200

Median number of days on the market: 261

Average sale-to-list percentage: 89.3%

Redfin agent Caren Morgan says:

"Tremé is definitely becoming an 'it' place in New Orleans. It's right on the border of the French Quarter, but somewhat less expensive and historically not as trendy. The neighborhood boasts a lot of turn-of-the-century homes with beautiful architectural details, which are generally very popular, especially among out-of-state buyers."

9. Greenfield — Aurora, Colorado

Median sale price: $455,000

Median number of days on the market: 42

Average sale-to-list percentage: 97.6%

Redfin agent Stephanie Collins says:

"Greenfield has a community pool, a playground, tennis courts, a fishing pond and many trails for people wanting the outdoor, active Colorado lifestyle. Located in the highly rated Cherry Creek School district, it's a prime location — just five minutes away from the Southlands Mall District, with its retailers, movie theater and many restaurant options."

8. Hollywood Park — Sacramento, California

Median sale price: $345,000

Median number of days on the market: 9

Average sale-to-list percentage: 100.2%

Redfin agent Matt Jones says:

"As people get priced out of other neighborhoods near city center, I've seen an increase in interest in Hollywood Park in particular. It's one of the few neighborhoods that's in really close proximity to downtown and yet still has some affordable homes available. A lot of the buyers I've worked with appreciate the unique older homes there and they are willing to sacrifice certain other amenities (like higher Walk Score ratings) in order to have charming homes with character that are still affordable and just a ten minute commute to some of the hippest areas in Sacramento."

Vacation home prices have skyrocketed in recent years, causing home sales to fall.

According to a report from the National Association of Realtors, vacation home sales declined by 18.5% between 2014 and 2015.

Buying a second home by the beach has become impossible for many Americans, including millennials and others who can barely afford to buy their first homes.

But not all beach towns are expensive. In some places, the median home value falls below $120,000.

For anyone interested in owning a first or second home by the beach, we took a look at the country’s most affordable beach towns.

Study specifics

To find the most affordable beach towns in America, SmartAsset collected Census Bureau data on 221 different coastal cities. We used the same four factors that we considered in the 2016 edition of our study: the median home value, the median amount of annual property taxes paid, the median annual amount of housing costs paid and the median number of rooms per house. For more information about how we conducted our study, you can refer to the data and methodology section below.

Key findings

• It's a tie. Both Florida and Mississippi have four cities that rank among the top 10 most affordable beach towns in America.
• Avoid the West Coast. Based on our analysis, only three of the top 25 most affordable beach towns lie off the coast of the Pacific Ocean: Coos Bay, Oregon; Port Angeles, Washington and Bremerton, Washington.

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1. Gulfport, Mississippi

Gulfport ranks as the No.1 most affordable beach town in America for the second consecutive year. The median home value is just $117,300 and residents spend only $926 on property taxes annually.

Buying a beach house in Gulfport could be worth considering, especially if you’re ready to leave the workplace. The city has golf courses, casinos and a number of bars and restaurants. Plus, Mississippi ranks as one of the best states for an early retirement.

2. Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola takes the No. 2 spot on our list in the 2016 and 2017 editions of our study. The average homeowner in Pensacola can expect to spend around $1,081 on property taxes. Total housing costs for the typical resident add up to $10,164.

Aside from being a beach town, Pensacola is home to the National Naval Aviation Museum, a couple of amusement parks and several different parks. Local residents also get to enjoy free shows put on by the Navy’s Blue Angels twice a year.

3. (TIE) Biloxi, Mississippi

Biloxi is known for its casinos. Some of the most popular ones include the Beau Rivage and the IP Casino. If you find yourself traveling to Biloxi often, why not buy a beach house in the area? A typical resident may spend about $9,444 on housing costs, including mortgage payments, utilities and homeowners insurance. Compared to housing costs in other beach towns, that’s relatively low.

Taylor Swift is known for a few things: Her beloved songs, sense of style, and a stable of famous best friends.

But what most people don't know is that the pop star also has impeccable taste in homes. From Nashville to Beverly Hills and New York City, the young icon already has an impressive real estate portfolio.

Trulia put together a list of Swift's recent home buys and shared it with INSIDER. Keep reading to see inside six of her fabulous houses.

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: In 2009, when she was 20 years old, Swift bought a penthouse apartment in midtown Nashville for nearly $2 million.

Source: Trulia

It was in the contemporary Adelicia complex, near Tennessee's "Music Row." Swift says she did the interior design herself.

Source: Trulia and Vulture

In 2013, after an interview with the pop star, Vulture described the home as 'whimsically girlie,' with a style that resembles a 'shabby-chic Alice in Wonderland.'

Source: Vulture