EDGE Boston

While a beachfront hotel room for a few nights may be all that most of us can afford, a handful of spectacular properties have hit the market over the past year that will make you the envy of all of your sun-loving friends.

For a pack rat, too much storage space can be as terrifying as too little.

The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes fell for the third straight month in September after the spring-and-summer peak buying season failed to entice new buyers.

The American dream of homeownership has felt its biggest drop since the Great Depression, according to new 2010 census figures.

Consider foreclosure-ravaged Detroit. In the historic Green Acres district, a haven for hipsters, a pristine, three-bedroom brick Tudor recently sold for $6,000 - about what a buyer would have paid during the Great Depression.

The U.S. homebuilders’ outlook worsened in September, as foreclosures and anxious buyers hurt construction and sales activity.

Spring buying pushed home prices up for a third straight month in most major U.S. cities in June. But the housing market remains shaky, and further price declines are expected this year.

Foreclosures made up roughly one-third of all home sales this spring. While that’s a smaller share of sales from the previous quarter, it’s six times the percentage of foreclosures in a healthy housing market.

The number of people who signed contracts to buy homes fell in July, further evidence that the depressed housing market remains a drag on the economy. The National Association of Realtors said Monday that its index of sales agreements fell 1.3 percent.

Natural disasters often leave a path of devastation, and the recent earthquake and threat of Hurricane Irene across the East Coast underlines the importance of preparedness for these potentially life-changing events.