At 14, Aden Nurie asked his father how to break into real estate. His dad, a commercial investor in Minneapolis, suggested he take a crack at wholesaling—so Aden gave it a go, cold-calling hundreds of people after school.

“In six months, I got my first deal,” Aden says. “By 16, I’d closed my tenth.”

Although Aden loved the thrill of chasing down real estate investments, he found the underwriting process tedious. So he asked Ian Cheshire, a 17-year-old coding whiz he’d met on Discord, to help him create an AI-powered platform to streamline the process. The result? ChatARV, where investors simply type in a property’s address to receive a near-instant estimate of how much it’s worth, repair costs, and after-repair value (ARV) to help investors make offers in seconds.

At first, Ian admits, “It was hard to convince people to trust it.” But since launching in March, the platform has attracted nearly 700 users nationwide for $89 per month. Still, ChatARV faces plenty of competition from companies with strikingly similar names, from CompGPT to CMAGPT. So how’s a scrappy startup founded by two teens supposed to stand out? And for that matter, how well do any of these new AI-powered tools really work?

“I was skeptical”

Chase Christensen, who flips houses in Phoenix, first heard about ChatARV through friends and decided to try it.

“I was skeptical, since everyone is doing AI,” he admits. “I’ve seen many companies try and fail. Most valuation tools are still wildly inaccurate.”

But after running over 150 properties through ChatARV and comparing the results to his own manual underwriting, he found that the numbers “were the most consistent I’ve seen.” Now, Christensen runs all his prospects through ChatARV, which gives him an edge in a fast-moving market.

In the meantime, Aden is working as hard as a busy high schooler can to refine ChatARV, transferring to a fully remote education so he can focus on his company. His parents supported this decision, seeing that their son is way more excited about growing his business than sitting in class. And despite his young age, he is clearly onto something.

“Real estate is a slow-moving industry, but I think with AI taking off, it could really benefit from tools like this,” says his dad, Hassan Nurie. “Early on, some people didn’t take him seriously, but he didn’t stop. And very quickly that changed, because people ultimately are looking for solutions.”

💲 Where it’s cheaper to buy than rent: Real estate prices may be high, but buying is actually more affordable than renting in nearly 58% of US markets, according to ATTOM. Check whether buying or renting makes sense where you live.

Dark horse markets: Zillow found that certain areas boasting affordable prices are poised to take off by year’s end. Find out where these buyer-friendly bets are hiding (including the biggest up-and-comer of all, where homes sell for $283,040).

A huge break for the build-to-rent industry: President Trump may be cracking down on large investors, but this one group got a free pass for good reason.

Where sellers still have the upper hand: Redfin reports that in today’s strong buyer’s market, there are only five seller’s markets left in the US—and you’ll never guess where they are.

Cancel that: Homebuyers bailed on a record 16.3% of US real estate transactions in December—and the reason might make you want to cancel, too.

The rental income you might be missing: These investors now make an extra $925 per month on properties they already owned after realizing that their “easiest source of passive income” was going to waste.

⛱️ New York’s hottest new neighborhood: It’s called NoFlo, and it’s not even in the Big Apple.

A $40 million price cut: This property just got a whole lot cheaper, but is it still overpriced? Check out the photos and judge for yourself.

With so much office space sitting empty nationwide, it makes total sense to turn it into residences. But do they truly feel like home…or like being stuck at work? We got the scoop from Robert Fuller at architecture firm Gensler, which is converting over 5 million square feet of office space across nine NYC buildings into over 7,000 residential apartments. And surprise, it turns out these places come with perks you won’t find anywhere else.

Q: What are some of the main challenges of converting office buildings into residential apartments? “Office buildings are designed to be big and deep for lots of desks and meeting rooms, while residential buildings are long and skinny to accommodate requirements for light and air. So there’s a fundamental difference between these two buildings. Our challenge is to rework the existing dimensions to be suitable for a totally different use. Another challenge is that office buildings are designed for centralized restroom cores—not distributed kitchens and bathrooms like apartment buildings—and require extensive plumbing reconfiguration. Offices are also operated with centralized heating and cooling, which is why people are often too hot or too cold at work, while residents expect to have individual control over thermostats. So we often have to replace the existing heating and cooling systems.”

Q: Are office-to-residence conversions a good investment? “Many office buildings are undervalued right now, which makes acquisition costs more manageable. At the same time, many are underutilized, so owners are motivated to find new uses for them. Cities are also incentivizing conversions and lowering regulatory barriers, which makes these projects more feasible than ever. On the financial side, high interest rates of recent years have made ground-up residential construction difficult to finance. Investors have been looking to conversion projects, which are not only less expensive than ground-up but also quicker to complete. We’re in a unique moment now where the stars are aligning for a wave of new housing to come out of repurposing existing buildings.”

Q: What advice would you have for investors hoping to convert an office building into a residence? “You have to embrace a more creative approach to residential design that works with the existing building, rather than relying on the freedom that comes with starting a project from scratch. Luckily, we architects enjoy thinking through these complex considerations, so these projects are actually fun for us!”

Q: Are there any advantages to living in a former office building? “What makes these spaces so appealing is their uniqueness. Unlike ground-up residential projects, conversions often result in layouts and features you won’t find anywhere else. Amenities are one area where creativity comes into play: Apartments usually hug the windowline, so we are typically left with interior zones without daylight that can’t function as living spaces. These spaces, however, are perfect for shared amenities, like gyms, lounges, or laundry rooms. We actually had one of our clients move into a conversion we designed, and it’s easy to see why: These projects create opportunities for distinctive homes that stand apart from traditional residential projects.”

Average home price: $1,509,057 (up 2.6% YoY)
Homes that sell over list price: 5.6%
Homes that sell under list price: 81.2%
Average rent: $3,800/month

Lay of the land: Park City is a skier’s paradise with steep prices to match—like this four-bedroom, 3,656-square-foot condo (shown above) for $11,950,000. But it is entirely possible to snag property here for a lot less if you know where to look.

“You don’t have to be in Park City proper anymore,” says Hilary Reiter Azzaretti, who operates a condo rental in the area. She recommends checking out nearby Heber City, where homes go for an average of $781,380.

Worried your rental cash flow might dry up outside of the winter ski season? Shruthi Reddy Kinkead, who’s owned a short-term rental here since 2015, points out, “Summer and fall tourism are growing, and help offset seasonal risk. And the 2034 Winter Olympics position Park City for long-term appreciation, making it a compelling market for investors.”

Take-home advice: “We think ski-in-ski-out is the best bet because you cannot replicate that convenience, so it tends to hold value,” says Kevin Hannaway, who bought a pre-construction condo in Canyons Village. But although establishing a short-term rental might seem like the obvious cash cow, “Park City is so inundated with nightly rentals that when we did the math, long-term rental profits were comparable,” says Azzaretti, adding that her rental brings in $3,000 per month. “A long-term rental also meant we could be more selective about our tenant and have less wear and tear on our property.”

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