There’s a nice little real estate boom underway in Europe.

Europe took 11 of the top 20 spots on a ranking of cities with the largest price increases in the first quarter, according to global property agency Knight Frank. Prices spiked more than 14% over the previous year in Berlin, Rotterdam and Budapest.

EU data back up the findings, showing that home prices increased by an average of 4.7% across the bloc in the first quarter, the highest price growth since late 2007 when the global financial crisis was about to explode.

Demand has been fueled by low interest rates, an improving job market, rising consumer confidence and growing interest from foreign buyers, according to Kate Everett-Allen, a residential property expert at Knight Frank.

At the same time, the number of new homes being built has slumped.

“There’s a massive reduction in what’s coming out of the ground in terms of new dwellings,” said Everett-Allen.

One prime example of the trend is Spain, where only 55,000 new homes were built in 2016. That compares to 735,000 in 2006, before the country’s economy was rocked by a debt crisis.

Everett-Allen said that prices have increased 10% in Madrid, making it one of the strongest growth areas.

“Madrid is a key one,” she said. “The economy has improved significantly. A lot of commercial activity is feeding into the residential side … You’re seeing interest from European buyers and some from Latin America as well.”

Related: Is this the future of home renovation?

Dublin is also bouncing back after a major property bubble burst during the financial crisis. Prices there jumped nearly 12% in the first quarter.

“Prices [in places like Ireland and Spain] are still below their pre-crisis peak,” said Everett-Allen. “They’re rising from quite a low base.”

Europe is also seeing a “small-city renaissance” due to increasing interest from young buyers, said Paul Tostevin, associate director at real estate agency Savills.

“Compared to higher-cost, congested global mega-cities, historic European cities on a smaller footprint offer residents shorter commutes, a lower cost of living and high quality of life,” he said.

There are some outliers. EU data show that prices in Italy and some Nordic nations are slipping. Knight Frank estimates that prices in Turin dropped 7.1% in the first quarter.

London’s famously expensive housing market has also experienced price declines as Brexit and new taxes have scared off buyers.

Related: American prices are rising faster than they have in six years

Changes in monetary policy could constrain future demand.

The European Central Bank has announced plans to end its €2.5 trillion ($2.9 trillion) stimulus program and it could hike interest rates as early as 2019, making mortgages more expensive.

Everett-Allen said buyers may be trying to lock in purchases before rates go up, contributing to the current market strength.

CNNMoney (London) First published July 17, 2018: 7:27 AM ET

Most people make money from their day jobs. British royals are not most people.

Queen Elizabeth II and the British royal family have multiple sources of income, but they’re still not as rich as you might expect.

Media reports have estimated the Queen’s personal fortune is worth up to £360 million ($470 million). That’s a nice chunk of change, but over 320 Brits are richer, according to the Sunday Times.

The Queen and the heir to her throne, Prince Charles, receive most of their income from the government and their private estates. Millions trickle down to the rest of the family, including Prince William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge. Prince Harry, who will wed American actress Meghan Markle on May 19, also receives royal funds.

Here’s how the royal finances work:

The Queen’s three main sources of income are the Sovereign Grant, the Duchy of Lancaster estate and her personal property and investments.

The Sovereign Grant — an annual lump sum from the government — is essentially an expense account, covering the costs of travel, security, staff and the upkeep of royal palaces.

The Queen received £42.8 million ($58 million) free of tax from the Sovereign Grant in the 2016-2017 fiscal year. The payment was projected to balloon by 78% to £76.1 million ($103 million) in the latest fiscal year to help finance an extensive renovation of Buckingham Palace.

The Sovereign Grant is generated from the Crown Estate, a collection of UK properties and farms that generate hundreds of millions of pounds each year. The vast majority of earnings from the Crown Estate go into government coffers, but a portion of the profits — between 15% to 25% — are given to the Queen in the form of the Sovereign Grant.

Related: How much does a royal wedding cost?

Another important source of income for the monarch is the Duchy of Lancaster, a private estate of commercial, agricultural and residential properties that dates back to 1265. It produced £19.2 million ($26 million) in income for the Queen during the most recent fiscal year. The Queen uses this money to pay for official and private expenses, including some costs incurred by other members of the royal family who undertake official engagements on her behalf.

Related: Everything you need to know about the royal wedding

The Queen also has her own personal assets, including Balmoral Castle in Scotland, and the Sandringham Estate in the east of England. Both were inherited from her father and are beloved family retreats.

But her wealth extends far beyond real estate. The Queen also owns a valuable stamp collection, numerous works of art and a stock portfolio.

Other assets closely associated with the Queen, including the Crown Jewels and many works of fine art, are actually owned by the Royal Collection Trust, a charity.

The Queen’ husband — Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh — also receives an annual payment worth £359,000 ($488,000) to finance his official duties. He retired last year after more than six decades of public service.

Related: Kate and William can afford 3 kids. Many Brits cannot

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, known formally as The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, rely on a a mix of public and private money.

Over 90% of their income comes from a private estate, the Duchy of Cornwall, which was established in 1337 to provide an income to the heir to the throne. The Duchy of Cornwall owns and operates land in rural and urban areas, a collection of islands and rental cottages in places like Wales and Cornwall.

In the most recent financial year, the couple made £20.7 million ($28 million) from the estate.

The couple also received £1.3 million ($1.8 million) from the Queen’s Sovereign Grant and another £461,000 ($627,000) from various UK government departments.

The Sovereign Grant is used to pay the couple’s official travel and property expenses. The government cash goes toward some official overseas trips and the salaries of members of the military who protect the family.

Roughly half of their annual income is spent on official duties and travel, while a quarter goes to the tax man. The remaining £6.6 million ($8.9 million) goes to Charles’ children, “non-official” purchases and a royal savings account.

When Markle officially joins the clan, Prince Charles has the discretion to give the couple more money.

Prince William, Kate and Prince Harry are also reimbursed for costs when they perform official duties on behalf of the Queen.

Prince William and Prince Harry have private, inherited wealth from their mother, Princess Diana.

There is limited public information about how the rest of the royal family make their money. The Queen has three other children aside from Prince Charles, and they too have children, spouses and grandchildren.

The Queen’s two youngest children, Andrew, the Duke of York, and Edward, the Earl of Wessex, work full-time to support the monarchy, which involves appearing at public engagements on behalf of their mother.

The Queen pays her children for these duties through her income from the Sovereign Grant and Duchy of Lancaster.

The next generation of royals is expected to forge their own careers and required to be more independent. For example, Andrew’s daughters — Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie — have full time jobs in the business and art worlds, respectively. But they also receive some financial support from their father.

CNNMoney (London) First published May 9, 2018: 7:22 AM ET

Zillow is the site people visit to see how much their home (or their neighbor’s) is worth.

But the company is not content only serving real estate voyeurs. It wants a bigger piece of the housing market pie.

Investors, however, are not pleased.

Shares of Zillow (Z) plunged nearly 20% Tuesday after it announced a plan to buy Mortgage Lenders of America, a home loan bank based in Kansas. Zillow also reported earnings and disappointed investors with its revenue outlook late Monday.

The bank deal is not the first move from Zillow into home buying.

The company announced in April that it was looking to purchase and flip homes near Phoenix and Las Vegas.

But the purchase of Mortgage Lenders of America will help Zillow originate and underwrite loans for homebuyers, a lucrative market that is currently dominated by big banks.

“We expect to be operating a larger and stronger business that is integrated into the consumer’s entire home life cycle,” said CEO Spencer Raskoff during a conference call with analysts Monday.

Related: Flip this house! ZIllow plans to buy and sell homes

Analysts are concerned by the aggressive push into the mortgage business.

“There are more questions than answers at this point,” said Brent Thill of Jefferies. He said the company “tripped over its own shoelaces out of the gate” with the mortgage move.

Bank of America analyst Nat Schindler downgraded Zillow’s stock Tuesday because of “greater concerns” about the push into mortgage lending.

Nonetheless, Raskoff seems convinced that Zillow has to become a bigger part of the housing market.

“These are all large and expanding markets in which we will now be active participants, not simply a place to advertise,” Raskoff added.

The timing of the move could be adding to concerns from investors.

Mortgage rates have been creeping higher lately and should continue to go up. The Federal Reserve currently plans to raise interest rates two more times this year and several more times in 2019.

That has led to some fears that the housing market may be close to peaking.

Investors have shunned most housing related stocks this year.

The SPDR S&P Homebuilders (XHB) exchange-traded fund, which owns shares of big builders like Lennar (LEN), retailers like Home Depot (HD) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM) and appliance maker Whirlpool (WHR), is down nearly 10% so far in 2018.

CNNMoney (New York) First published August 7, 2018: 12:55 PM ET

I was going almost 50 miles an hour on a mountain road just north of New York City. Ahead of me, the road curved sharply to the left with just a thin metal railing between the speeding car and a long drop down a mountainside into the Hudson River.

I didn’t touch the brake pedal.

Instead, the $120,000 Porsche Panamera plug-in hybrid I was driving slowed on its own, allowing me to steer around the curve. As I unwound the steering wheel, the car accelerated back up to speed on its own

This particular Panamera had two separate cruise control systems. (The price includes both optional systems.) There was the familiar “Active Cruise Control,” which uses radar to sense and slow down for traffic. These days, that’s an option even on many non-luxury cars.

The other, called InnoDrive, is intended for use on twisting, rural roads. You know, the sort of roads where you’d most want to drive a Porsche. Besides radar that lets it detect cars ahead and slow down, it also relies on detailed map data to know when curves or hills are coming up. The car won’t steer around the curve — that’s still up to the driver — but it will automatically slow down, even applying the brakes, to a safe speed for the curve, accelerating back up to speed on the way out.

I turned the system on as I approached a road that snaked over a mountain. I could set the system to obey the posted speed limit — it has cameras to read speed limit signs or, failing that, it can rely on its own map data. If I wanted, I could set my preferred speed higher or lower.

I wanted to go faster.

I took a self-driving Cadillac from New York to Washington

The Panamera charged up the mountain. As I approached the first couple of curves, the Panamera didn’t change speed at all. It just went right through. That didn’t mean the car was unaware of the curves. It just meant that, even at the higher speed I’d set, those bends were no big deal. There was no need for the Panamera to slow down.

Then came that sharp left-hander with nothing but a railing and a partly cloudy sky straight ahead. A blue arrow, curving to the left, appeared in the gauge cluster. It was the car’s way of saying “Yeah, I know.”

The brake pedal moved down and the car’s 8-speed transmission downshifted. I had set the car to Sport mode so the Panamera was moving pretty quickly. I had been warned it might be scary, but it wasn’t. I had used the InnoDrive system a bit already and I’d learned to trust it.

Like a lot of luxury cars, the Panamera has several driving modes including Hybrid, Sport and Sport Plus, that alter how quickly it responds to the gas pedal and steering wheel, when it shifts and gears and how firm the suspension is. The InnoDrive system plays along and drives differently, too.

The self-driving car startup the car industry trusts

When set to Hybrid mode, this car’s default, the Panamera plug-in slowed way down and moved languidly through each turn.

Even in the Sport mode, though, it never felt crazy or unsafe. Honestly, I probably would have driven through those turns faster myself.

A question naturally comes to mind, though. Doesn’t someone buy a Porsche so they can do all this themselves? True. But sometimes you might just want to get someplace and while you give your foot a rest.

As for me, when I was done reviewing InnoDrive, I shut it off, turned the car around, and drove the same road myself using my own right foot. It was way more fun.

CNNMoney (New York) First published May 9, 2018: 11:11 AM ET

You’ve been dreaming of owning a home for years, and now you’re finally ready to make the leap. You’ve found the perfect place and may have even started deciding where to put the furniture, but you still have one big obstacle standing in your way: getting a mortgage.

If you’ve never bought a home before, the whole process can seem a little confusing. One of the first things you have to figure out is whether you should get a fixed-rate or adjustable-rate mortgage. Most people choose the fixed-rate mortgage without even thinking about it, but there are situations where an adjustable-rate mortgage may be a better fit.

Every mortgage charges interest in order to make the deal worth it for lenders. With fixed-rate mortgages, you lock in a single interest rate for the lifetime of your loan. Usually, the payment period is 30 years, but it can be 20 or 15 if you want to pay off your home more quickly.

The reason fixed-rate mortgages are so popular is that they’re more predictable. You know exactly how much money to set aside out of your paycheck each month to cover the bill. Plus, if interest rates rise, you don’t have to worry about your monthly mortgage payment rising accordingly.

The disadvantage is that if mortgage rates go down and you’d like to capitalize on this, you’ll have to refinance — and that means spending a few thousand dollars in closing costs. Fixed-rate mortgages also have higher starting interest rates than adjustable-rate mortgages, and that may limit how much home you’re able to buy.

As the name implies, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) have interest rates that change over the lifetime of the loan. Most ARMs these days are hybrids, which means they have an initial fixed-rated period, after which the interest rate begins to change, usually once per year. You may see this written as 5/1 or 7/1. This means that you get five or seven years of a fixed interest rate, and after that, the interest rate — and your payments — will be adjusted every year.

The risks of ARMs are clear. When your interest rate can change, it’s possible that your payments could become so expensive that you can’t keep up with them. If your monthly payments during the initial fixed-rate period would put a strain on your budget, an ARM isn’t a good choice for you. Before taking out an ARM, be sure to get a Truth in Lending disclosure from your lender, which should list the maximum amount your monthly mortgage payment could reach. Make sure you’re comfortable with this amount before you sign on the dotted line.

But there can be times when an ARM is the smarter choice. Starting interest rates on ARMs are usually lower than on fixed-rate mortgages, so your monthly payments will likely be lower for at least a few years. And if you find yourself in an environment where mortgage interest rates are declining or holding steady, your interest rates may not increase significantly even after the fixed-rate period is up.

If interest rates begin to decline, your monthly payments may actually decrease, though not all ARMs allow this, and they often put a cap on how low your payments can go. Typically there are also caps on how much your payments can increase, both annually and over the lifetime of the loan. You may see this written as 2/2/5 or something similar. The first number reflects the greatest amount by which the interest rate can rise in the first year after your fixed-rate period ends — in this case, 2%. The second number represents the most it can change every year thereafter, and the third number represents the most it can change over the lifetime of your loan.

Related: More on buying a home

To put this in perspective, let’s say you buy a $250,000 home with a 30-year 5/1 ARM, a 4% initial interest rate, and 20% down. Your initial monthly payment would be $955. In an ideal world, that number wouldn’t increase over the lifetime of the loan, and you’d get the whole house for about $344,000, factoring in interest.

However, that’s nearly the best-case scenario. Now let’s consider the worst-case scenario. Imagine that, after the initial fixed-rate period, your interest rate rose by 0.25% each year until it reached the maximum increase of 5%, bringing your interest rate to 9%. You’d end up paying $419,000 over the lifetime of the loan, and your monthly payment would climb to $1,323.

These are extreme scenarios, and in reality, the price you ultimately paid for your home would likely fall somewhere in the middle. However, you should keep in mind that if your ARM’s interest rate reaches its cap, it could cost you tens of thousands of dollars in additional interest payments.

Fixed-rate mortgages are usually the better choice for most people. This is especially true if you plan on being in your home for more than five years or if interest rates are historically low, as they are now.

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You may want to consider an ARM if you’ll only be in the home for a few years, if you think interest rates will decrease, and/or you expect your income to rise enough to absorb higher mortgage payments. Before you sign up for an ARM, though, it’s important to calculate how much your mortgage payment could change over the lifetime of your loan to make sure it’s still something you could afford.

CNNMoney (New York) First published August 8, 2018: 10:19 AM ET

Everyone knows weddings are pricy. Meghan Markle’s upcoming wedding to Prince Harry in the UK will take things to the next level.

Seasoned wedding planners estimate the cost for the May 19 wedding could reach £1 million ($1.4 million) or more. The cost for special security raises the bill much further.

Still, even the most lavish weddings don’t generally exceed £10 million ($13.5 million), according to Jamie Simon, head of events at the luxury British event management firm, Banana Split.

“There’s only so many ideas you can come up with before you [start] inventing ways to spend money,” he said.

Plus, the couple is getting some things for free. Swipe through to review a breakdown of the expected costs.

Unemployment keeps falling and home prices keep going up. It’s a great recipe for a strong housing market.

Nothing has been able to stop the housing boom — not even higher interest rates.

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers (TOL) said Tuesday that demand for its houses was strong across the country — the company signed a record number of contracts last quarter.

Toll Brothers reported quarterly financial results that easily topped forecasts and raised its outlook for the year, citing a backlog of new homes for the third quarter.

Higher rates do not seem to be an issue for prospective buyers, mainly because the job market remains strong and housing prices are rising.

The company said that the average price of its homes in the most recent quarter was $851,900, compared to $791,400 a year ago. And Toll Brothers expects that prices for the current quarter will range between $840,000 and $870,000.

The only weak spot was California, where demand cooled a bit.

Toll Brothers executive chairman Robert Toll said the company believes the new home market can continue to grow in the coming years — especially as people seek to cash in on the rising value of their current home and trade up.

As the value of people’s homes increases, empty nesters and homeowners looking for bigger houses have more equity to work with, Toll said in the company’s press release. He also expects those two groups and Millennials will fuel demand for new homes in the coming years.

Shares of Toll Brothers surged more than 11% on the solid earnings Tuesday — but the stock is still down 20% for the year.

The results are the latest sign that the recent homebuilder stock slump may have been an overreaction. Investors feared that rate hikes would weaken demand for homes. That hasn’t happened yet.

Rival builder Lennar (LEN) also reported healthy quarterly results in late June.

Retail giant Home Depot (HD) just posted strong numbers last week as well, another sign that people continue to spend on their houses. Home Depot rival Lowe’s (LOW) will report results Wednesday and analysts are expecting a nearly 30% jump in earnings.

CNNMoney (New York) First published August 21, 2018: 10:45 AM ET