New Meaning for Pied-a-Terre

Pied-a-terre, French for "foot in the ground," used to mean a small city apartment or condo used occasionally by owners who live elsewhere. Now, it seems, folks are seeing the investment potential in a pied-a-terre as well as buying or renting suburban places for this use, too. One recent article at SFgate.com (the Chronicle's online site) tells of city dwellers renting or buying places in the suburban neighborhoods where they grew up. Another, in the Washington Post notes that commuters are swooping in to buy places in the capital for weekends, late nights and vacations.

Of course, affluent real estate consumers for years have stocked up on petite apartment gems in Manhattan for years.

Categories: Pied-a-terre, WashingtonDC, SanFrancisco, Manhattan