The Wall Street Journal: Real Estate

The New First Family of Real Estate

An $85 million L.A. mansion with a 500-worker renovation team. A $70 million London home with a bowling alley. The Ecclestone sisters are swiftly amassing a global property portfolio. The new generation of wealthy buyers.

Chelsea's Perennial Inspiration

If last year was about big, manly architectural statements at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, this year is about exploring the softer, more sensual side of gardening, with smells and sounds featuring heavily in show spaces.

'Painted Lady' for $2.295 Million

A Queen Anne Victorian, one of San Francisco's 'Painted Ladies' overlooking Alamo Square Park, is on the market for $2.295 million.

Foreclosures Show No Sign of Decline

The percentage of homeowners delinquent on their mortgages in the first quarter fell to the lowest level since the end of 2008, but the share of loans in foreclosure remains high.

If Kids Can Play, Will Mom Shop?

In their bid to keep shoppers from deserting to the Internet, more malls are adding sprawling play spaces.

Orange County Register - O.C. Real Estate News

21 new Irvine luxury homes sell out in 2 weeks

The multigenerational housing experiment that is Lambert Ranch in Irvine is off to a fast start: its first two phases, 21 homes in all, have sold out within two weeks of the project’s debut. The New Home Co. — a homebuilding startup headed by...

Beach homes lead O.C. homebuying spree

Orange County homebuying runs at a six-year high with a widespread recovery highlighted by the hottest spot: near the beach. Click to see where homes sold best in Southern California! That’s what we found our studying how housing trends hit various...

5 questions about housing's rebound

We're starting too see more real estate reports with a common theme: "Best in years ..." Is it blip or a beginning? The week of May 21 will help us answer five key questions about the sustainability of the housing business seeimngly robust spring...

Bungalow for sale on famed surfing street

A well-maintained 1950s bungalow on what is arguably one of San Clemente's most iconic surfing streets just hit the market. CLICK THROUGH photos above for larger images. This one-level home is located at 115 Trafalgar Lane - Trafalgar Lane winds down...

Analyst: Foreclosure's shrinking shadow over housing

Veteran Southern California real estate analyst G.U. Krueger adds his commentary on the housing market to this blog in a spot we call "Thursday Morning Quarterback." Here's his latest installment. … There was a time, when the "shadow" of the...

L.A. Times - Real Estate News

Celebrity sellers have little effect on home prices

A famous name can boost buyer interest in a home, but it doesn't necessarily pump up the price.

Their internationally recognized names sell music and movie tickets. They promote perfumes and presidents. But when it comes to selling their own houses, celebrities often find that their cachet doesn't pull in the cash.

Ellen Degeneres downsizes into 8,500-square-foot Beverly Hills home

The daytime show host has sold her 3-acre Beverly Hills compound, which includes four structures, to Ryan Seacrest.

Cyberspace was a-twitter this week with the news that Ryan Seacrest is buying Ellen DeGeneres' Beverly Hills compound for $37 million, and that she and spouse Portia de Rossi are moving no farther than a Hal Levitt-designed midcentury — also in Beverly Hills.

Home of the Week: Italian Renaissance-style in La Jolla

Six-bedroom, five-courtyard home with Venetian accents offers ocean and coastline views.

Taking its cues from Teatro La Fenice, an opera house in Venice, this Italian Renaissance-style estate was recently doubled in size. Five courtyards bring the living space outdoors to take advantage of the ocean and coastline views.

FHA may loosen limits on condo mortgages

The revisions could remove at least some of the obstacles that have dissuaded condo homeowner association boards from seeking approval or recertification of their buildings for FHA loans.

WASHINGTON — Thousands of condominium owners and buyers around the country could soon be in line for some welcome news on mortgage financing: Though officials are mum on specifics, the Federal Housing Administration is readying changes to its controversial condominium rules that have rendered large numbers of units ineligible for the agency's low-down-payment insured mortgages.

Abstention deadlocks five-member homeowners association board

Question: There are five directors on our homeowners association board. If the vote on an item is two yes, two no and one abstention, what is the outcome: yes or no?

Inman News Headlines

NAR weighs rules for mobile IDX listings

Rulemaking for social media postponed again

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Bill would stop bulk REO sales in California

NAR backing sponsor Gary Miller's reelection bid

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Banks must take risks

Modern economies cannot grow without credit

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Neighborhood social networking site taking off

Launched in October, Nextdoor is up and running in more than 2,000 communities

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One man's Guggenheim, another man's toilet

Unconventional design is like an architectural Rorschach

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