“October Housing News Best Since 2007”
According to the U.S. Commerce Department, Americans were buying new homes in October at the fastest rate since 2007 – an annual rate of about 685,000 new homes. The National Association of Realtors reports equally strong sales for existing homes up to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of almost 5.5 million. The increases were higher than experts expected after two months of hurricane disasters and low inventory.
“Tom Petty’s $5.9 Million Lake House”
Recently deceased Rock and Roll superstar Tom Petty’s lake house near Malibu is for sale at $5.895 million. Built in 1931 with walls of local field stone, Petty’s retreat has mountain and water views across the natural lake from almost every room and 125-feet of lakefront. Deceptively large at 5,300 square feet, the house has three bedrooms and three baths and underwent an expansion in 2004.
“Richard Nixon’s Western White House For Sale”
Richard Nixon’s Western White House is for sale. Listed at $63.5 million, the 15,000-square-foot compound on 5.5 acres in San Clemente, California is where Nixon spent much of his time during the Watergate hearings and where he lived after resigning the presidency. Nixon sold the home in 1980 and moved to New York City. The estate includes a main house with 9,000 square feet, four bedrooms and seven bathrooms, guest house, tennis court and several staff buildings that housed the Secret Service. Nixon bought the home in 1969 for $1.4 million.
“Happiest Cities In the U.S.”
According to National Geographic, Boulder, Colorado is the happiest city in the United States. An analysis based on 15 factors including vacation time, financial security and civic engagement determined Boulder to be the happiest town followed by Santa Cruz, California and Charlottesville, Virginia. Cities in West Virginia, Arkansas and North Carolina are the least happy.
“Cary Grant’s Pool House”
Back in 1960’s Hollywood when Cary Grant was one of the industry’s biggest stars, he was so popular that Las Vegas Dunes Hotel & Casino owner Charlie “Kewpie” Rich built a pool guest house just for him. Villa Paradiso was built in 1928 for a Chicago heiress and later purchased by Rich who built the pool house for Grant while he was married to Dyan Cannon – his fourth marriage. The couple stayed there often with their daughter Jennifer. The mansion and its three guest houses are now for sale at $13 million – the pool house interior almost identical to when the Grant family lolled away their weekends there.
“Richard Gere ‘Unfaithful’ House For Sale”
A New York farmhouse from the movie ‘Unfaithful’ is for sale at $2.395 million. The six-bedroom Colonial-style home was built in 1817 and was seen extensively as the family home in the 2002 film starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane as a married couple whose marriage was falling apart. It was also the home of Mary Todd Lincoln’s nephew in the 1800s.
“Eva Longoria’s Hollywood Hills House”
Eva Longoria is selling her home in the Hollywood Hills that she bought in 2015 from Tom Cruise for $11.4 million. Eva is asking $14 million. The Texas-born ‘Desperate Housewives’ and ‘Devious Maids’ star is moving to a more contemporary home in the nearby Beverly Crest neighborhood.
“Rand Paul’s House Wars”
While some people are spinning Rand Paul’s dispute with his Kentucky neighbor as a political squabble, others point to a typical neighborhood feud involving Paul’s messy yard clippings, grass length and home style. One of Rand’s neighbors told gq.com, ‘They pick on Rand because he has the smallest one (house) out there.’
“Deion Sanders’ Prosper Mansion”
A 29,000-square-foot Texas mansion with a basketball court and bowling alley that Deion Sanders owned until 2014 is going to auction on December 13th. When Deion owned the home, it was on 109 acres with a football field and 12-acre lake. He sold the home in 2014 to a developer who built expensive homes on 22 of the acres. In other Deion home news, he finally sold his 5,000-square-foot Dallas penthouse with rooftop pool for $4.5 million. It had been on and off the market since 2009.
“Top 10 Housing Appreciation Towns”
According to a study of 300 metro areas by Realtor.com, home prices are increasing at a higher percentage rate in Midwest towns such as Omaha, Fort Wayne Columbus and Grand Rapids than most of the United States. Since 2012, home appreciation is up about 70 percent in these cities.
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