Real Estate

Following a much-publicized recent breakup with longtime fiance Hayden Christensen, and an insult-to-injury robbery, actress Rachel Bilson and her young daughter are getting a fresh start with an inspiring new home perfect for two ladies starting over. High in the Pasadena hills above the Rose Bowl (and the Kidspace Museum, for toddler Briar Rose), Bilson’s new $3.

One of the only hints this classic, light-filled West Village townhouse was owned by the late star best known as Tony Soprano might be in the office — where both the wall-to-wall carpet and the wingback armchair are covered in leopard print.

If you love the great outdoors and going to the country for that Wild West lifestyle, then take your money and run to the listing agent for legendary musician Steve Miller’s 13-acre “gentleman’s ranch” in Ketchum, Idaho —which just hit the market as the region’s fifth most expensive real estate listing, ever.

So you’re moving, huh? Congratulations! While moving itself is stressful, the prospects of a new place are usually always exciting. It’s a fresh start — a chance to reorganize and redecorate! But where do you start? I’ll tell you: You start before you move in — especially in the kitchen. Here are five things to take care of before you unpack that first kitchen box.

These "investments" are anything but.

Taylor Swift has embraced the New York state of mind so completely, and so broadly through real estate investments, that some pop culture writers have started referring to her downtown Manhattan ‘hood as “Taybeca.” Now, the New York Post reports that Swift has mic-dropped a whopping $18 million for a townhouse at 153 Franklin Street in Tribeca (with a somewhat shady past) in an off-market deal.

Twilight star turned indie film staple Kristen Stewart has decided to try her own hand at taking the worst apartment in the best location and renovating it into the real estate gem of our dreams. The famously private actress and Chanel model just scooped up this 3,000 square foot, three bedroom, two bath NoHo loft for $5.

What would you trade for your home to have a moment of TV fame? Endless roof pizzas? Well, now that the writers at The Real Deal have pulled back the curtain on how much money people actually get paid to rent out their homes to a TV show, you can be a little smarter in your bargaining. While homeowners do have to deal with crews traipsing in and out of their homes for anywhere from a day to a few weeks, they are handsomely rewarded for their time.

When you purchase a home, it’s smart to invest in homeowners insurance. In fact, you probably don’t have a choice: Your mortgage lender will more often than not mandate it. As a first-time buyer, you might wonder exactly what is and what isn’t covered by your new homeowners insurance policy. It turns out, your standard homeowners insurance isn’t exactly a one-stop shop that covers every and any disaster. Sure, it covers a lot of them, but not all.

Destroying a hotel room is, like, so rock ‘n’ roll, but what about questionably redecorating (and possibly setting a small fire to) a $27,000 per month West Village rental? That’s the kind of history that comes with this NYC townhouse, currently listed for sale at $11.25 million — after a $100,000 makeover the owner deemed necessary once infamous grunge band frontwoman Courtney Love moved out in 2011.

In 1926, architect Lloyd Wright (yep, son of Frank) built this “neo Mayan” home in Los Feliz for friend and artist John Sowden. The property is currently for sale for $4.7 million.

While it might not be as nightmarish as Toronto just yet, the real estate market in and around San Francisco has been getting worse for years. Here’s what homes are really selling for: The backstory: My cousin and her family have lived in Berkeley, Calif., for several years, renting because they couldn’t afford to buy there even five years ago.

While the rest of us are still dreaming of a white Christmas, former Tonight Show host Jay Leno and his wife Mavis are desperately seeking summer with a brand new seaside home in historic Newport, Rhode Island. According to The Boston Globe, the Lenos paid $13.5 million for the crescent moon-shaped, French chateau-inspired mansion on a private, gated 9-acre coastline peninsula.

We introduced our daughter to Home Alone this month, one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies. (Now we watch it almost every day, because that’s how things go with a five-year-old.

Imagine a year that trades the dreaded full camera roll for treasured photos that are aren’t trapped in the overflowing digital archives of your phone. Deciding to do something with your photos — right now, before you take too many in 2018 — will not only you give you a keepsake of your memories, but will also lead to some compelling and surprising consequences.

Okay, I admit it: I love watching ABC’s The Bachelor. Not only does it offer up a superior mix of fantasy, romance, and of course, drama, the beloved reality series takes place in an over-the-top mansion, that we have to say, looks pretty design-savvy from our seats.

It may not be a fixer-upper any longer, but this beautiful Waco property is certainly on the market. Patti Baker, a mother of two who had her gut reno and subsequent move-in to her rehabbed home documented in March of last year, was just featured on the January 9th episode of the hit HGTV series. But it turns out that Baker, who lost her husband back in 2013, has a pretty exciting reason for saying goodbye to her wonderful Waco home now: She got remarried!

Did you watch Ryan Murphy’s newest TV extravaganza, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, this week? The show, which follows the events leading up to and aftermath of Gianni Versace’s murder, features an all-star cast and Versace’s actual mansion. Now a luxury hotel, the Miami enclave of the designer is basically a character on the show.

Americans spend an average of $25,800 to remodel a small to mid-sized kitchen, according to the 2018 Houzz Kitchen Trends Study. That’s for a full overhaul including all new cabinetry and appliances; upgrading a larger kitchen (more than 200 square feet) averages $42,000. Those are big numbers, and no doubt most people do their best to trim them down if possible.

The United Kingdom last week created a new government leadership role, naming Tracey Crouch the world’s first “minister of loneliness.” While the idea might lend itself to punchlines, the role is designed to address what has become a surprisingly serious public health crisis. Loneliness contributes to addiction, depression, heart disease, and dementia; its long-term mortality effect is on par with smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

When you’re a Hollywood superstar of the mega-wattage of Whoopi Goldberg, nothing but a property with serious Silver Screen street cred will do. But after more than 20 years at her Pacific Palisades home, the EGOT winner and talk show host is moving on — listing the pedigreed estate for $6.25 million more than what she purchased it for back in 1993.

When going from a 2,200-square-foot traditional home to a 300-square-foot renovated RV, my family and I ended up getting rid of 80 percent of our belongings. Downsizing is an experience that I recommend to anyone—no matter the size of your home. While living in a tiny vehicle might not be for everyone, I believe that getting rid of all that overwhelming “stuff” can help you live simpler and sometimes even happier.

A new Helen Mirren movie about a rich heiress who builds a strange mansion is based on real events. While it sounds like the real house it centers around was less about ghost stories than Hollywood makes it out to be, the place is still imposing. Winchester’s trailer shows Sarah Winchester, the widow of rifle magnate William Wirt Winchester, as she builds room after room onto her mansion, trapping inside each of them the ghosts of those who died as a result of her husband’s firearms.

Since 1997, HGTV has made viewers’ lives by giving away their annual Dream Home—a picturesque retreat most people can only dream of owning. And this year’s grand prize was no exception: A 3,500-square-foot home on the waterfront in Gig Harbor, Washington, the four-bed, three-bath beauty came with a Honda Accord and $250,000 from Quicken Loans.

Have you ever thought how cool it would be to own a famous house recognizable from popular culture? Maybe think again. The current owners of the L.A.-located Rosenheim Mansion, AKA the famous haunted house featured in the initial season of American Horror Story, are way over the novelty. In fact, they’re suing the previous owners for not giving them a heads up about how often the house is visited by fans of the horror anthology.

Moving is the worst! Or, more accurately, packing is the worst. Getting set up in a new home is fun, and a chance for a fresh start. But packing is a slog, and if you’re not at least a little strategic about it, you can make more work for yourself. One essential part of your packing process should be decluttering. Do not put something in a box if you don’t want it to live in your new kitchen!

“You’re just too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off of you,” which is what you’ll be singing to this house. And for good reason! Not only is it beautiful, it’s also the house featured in classic teen movie 10 Things I Hate About You. Located in Tacoma, Washington, the gorgeous Victorian has plenty to offer up outside of its Hollywood pedigree, but that doesn’t hurt. The five bedroom, four bathroom 5,760 square foot house is on the market for $1.

While some folks just cannot get enough of all things Fixer Upper and Chip and Joanna Gaines, others are cooling on the couple and their Magnolia empire in Waco, Texas — including, it would appear, local home buyers. A few years ago, after Fixer Upper was well into its third season, each real estate listing for a home featured and fixed up on the show could command a bidding war, but now the same or similar inventory sits on the market, even seeing reductions in price.

While there’s certainly never any snark about houses around these parts, we can still appreciate it when it’s artfully done. @PleaseHateTheseThings compiles the best bizarro, wackadoo real estate and design photos the internet has to offer, presenting them with just the right amount of sarcasm and wonder. The brainchild of interior designer Dina Holland, the account catalogues all the “absurd, ill conceived & just plain stupid things in home decor” with razor sharp wit.

As anyone watching the Golden Globes red carpet could plainly see, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are a match made in Hollywood heaven — which could be why, eight years after purchasing it and two years after wedding his perfect partner, Timberlake has finally listed his former NYC bachelor pad.

Star of the hit movie Life Size and creator of little known reality show America’s Next Top Model, Tyra Banks has reportedly picked up a brand new California property. After selling her gorgeous New York condo last spring, Banks recently purchased this sprawling Pacific Palisades home for $6.995 million. The 6,160 square foot, five bedroom, five and a half bathroom contemporary home boasts sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and amenities fit for a supermodel.

Depending on who you ask, this totally qualifies as one of those urgent questions that need answers: Who wants to live in a home Beyoncé once rented ? You can, that is if you have enough coins and crisp dollar bills to purchase Sandcastle, the Carters’ not-so-humble former rental in Bridgehampton that is now on the market for $49.95 million.

With celebs often buying one another’s homes, sometimes the world of celebrity real estate can feel like one big episode of Trading Spaces. Such is the case when it comes to the recent sale of Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo’s home. The Maroon 5 frontman and star of The Voice and his model wife have just sold their sprawling LA ranch — which registers at just over over 7,000 square feet — to fellow musician John Mayer for $13.5 million.

If you still maintain that Annie Hall-era Diane Keaton was the best Diane Keaton, then hold onto your oversized bowler hat. Because the first apartment the actress bought after playing the icon to quirky leading ladies is now back on the market. Housed in a now-famous Central Park West co-op, the full-floor apartment with skyline views “in every direction” is the first apartment Keaton ever purchased following the success of her 1977 film with Woody Allen.

It’s the kind of place where you could easily imagine perfectly imperfect couple Charlotte and Harry spending their happily forever after, if they ever deigned to leave New York. But instead of a faux set for Sex and the City, this art-filled villa in Los Angeles is the place where very real actress Kristin Davis is now calling home.

The first glance of Heidi Klum’s new “no-frills fixer-upper” penthouse in SoHo has us channeling her Project Runway costar Tim Gunn and chanting: “Make it work!” The supermodel turned entrepreneur and TV producer recently bought the nearly 5,000 square foot loft at 515 Broadway in March for about $5 million, according to The Real Deal.

Want to live like Mrs. Maisel? Then we have good news: an apartment in The Strathmore, the Upper West Side building where the show is set, is on the market. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was a breakout hit show last year, winning two Golden Globes in January (for Best Musical or Comedy TV Series and Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy TV Series). And as lovers of space and design, we watched for the marvelous mid-century interiors as much as the brilliant acting and storytelling.

Another house from Fixer Upper has hit the market, located “just minutes from the Silos” and with tons of built-in, established rental income. What’s the most intriguing about this listing is that you can see how the couple actually styled the home after Joanna left them to their own devices — and which, if any, of the pieces that the Gaineses selected that the veterinarian and her ultra-marathoner husband actually chose to purchase.

While you might be aghast that someone couldn't love your dog, here's what a potential buyer might be thinking when they see him in your listing.

“House Hunters” first premiered in 1999 when I was 12 years old. I devoured episode after episode. And since they don’t teach you these practical things in school, I thought I had learned everything there is to know about home buying from the popular HGTV show. But fast forward 18 years: I got married, then pregnant. Suddenly I was eager to trade the nearly-windowless rental basement my husband and I considered home for one we could call our own.

Taylor Swift is rapidly earning her Reputation as one of the most prolific real estate investors of her millennial generation, with potentially yet another massive quick-flip profit coming her way from the upcoming sale of her Beverly Hills home. According to Trulia, Swift purchased the home for $1.775 million back in 2012 and just listed it for $2.95 million.

Now the fifth highest-grossing actress of all time, Elizabeth Banks has had quite the busy (and wildly successful) decade — and is saying #treatyoself to a new $6.85 million family estate with sweeping views of downtown Los Angeles, but far enough away in the San Fernando Valley to create some work/life balance.

Dubbed “Shaq-apulco” by the celebrity basketball player and his entourage, Shaquille O’Neal’s longtime home in Orlando is up for sale—and the 31,000-square-foot estate sitting on four prime Floridian waterfront acres has all the over the top features of an all-inclusive resort getaway. And then a hefty dose of humor and quirk befitting the larger-than-life star with the personality to match.

After over a year on the market, actor-director-producer Kirsten Dunst has just sold her charmingly boho penthouse loft in Hudson Square—at the intersection of New York’s coveted Soho and Tribeca neighborhoods—for $4.4 million. The 477 Washington Street #PHW (aka 533 Canal Street) was formerly owned by Dunst and is the same vintage-inspired, two-bedroom, two-bathroom loft that the celebrity has had listed on the market since February 2017.

Five months after the celebrity duo were spotted touring an available condo at their old Brewster Carriage House building, the Wall Street Journal has confirmed that Chrissy Teigen and John Legend are the proud new owners of this $9M penthouse in NYC. It’s back to their old stomping grounds at 374 Broome in Nolita, but now with loads more space—both indoors and outdoors—for their growing family.

At $15.5 million, the townhouse that actors Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany just purchased on Brooklyn Heights is believed to be one of the most expensive transactions ever closed in the New York City borough.

Calling all Nancy Meyers fans and softly-lit rom-com addicts: the real-life house where The Holiday (with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, and Jack Black) was filmed just want on the market in Southern California—for $11.8 million.

What does a basement closet in Brooklyn have to do with an exotic animal-laden ranch in Colombia? They both live in the Netflix universe, of course. ForRent.com compiled a list of some of the most memorable properties of Netflix Originals characters, and determined how much it would cost to rent them. Whether you’re in the market for a sprawling Hollywood Hills mansion or a small apartment above a Chinese restaurant, here’s a look at some of Netflix’s most iconic properties.

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle are in nesting mode. The royal duo, who were wed just two weeks ago, have signed a two-year lease for a new home in the Cotswolds. Located about 90 minutes outside of London, the Grand Tew Estate is described as the “archetypal English Country Estate. Spring lambs playing in rolling grassland, oak woods with a carpet of bluebells, chocolate box thatch cottages.” Damn, that’s bucolic!

I’d like to start by saying: I hate moving. I am known to be extremely dramatic when it comes to getting organized, packing up my belongings, and essentially living in a real-life obstacle course (dodging suitcases, stepping over boxes) while I await my move. But there was one aspect of my recent relocation—only 20 blocks, but in New York City that still feels like an undertaking—that was justifiably overwhelming: The Purging Of The Bookshelf. Sounds like a horror movie, right?

The rumors have been confirmed: Puget Sound is getting a new celebrity resident. Oprah Winfrey just picked up an $8.275 million estate on Orcas Island in the San Juan archipelago, halfway between Seattle and Vancouver—the first Pacific Northwest property for the billionaire media mogul and her burgeoning real estate empire.

While you may love your barn red kitchen, a new report released today by Zillow finds that it could cost you when looking to sell your home someday. The report found that painting your front door, kitchen, or bathroom with certain color palettes can drastically depreciate your home value by more than $2,000.

Here’s your chance to snag a piece of Fixer Upper history. Known as the “Faceless Bunker” on season two of the HGTV show, the four bed, three and a half bath home was absolutely transformed by Chip and Joanna Gaines. Now, it’s hit the market for a whopping $1.15 million. Quite a difference from the $349,000 it was last sold for in 2014, according to realtor.com.

My daily use of real estate apps started off as a justifiable act: my husband, Kumar, and I we were in the market for a house after receiving the news that he’d matched for a gastroenterology fellowship in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At the time, we were living in New York City, paying budget-breaking rent for a tiny apartment. Thus, we figured—why not put our money into a small starter home when we move? We wanted a yard for our two little dogs to run around in.

It’s not all puppies and kittens, folks. These days, there’s an Instagram account (and #influencer) for pretty much everything. And that includes real estate. (The word “real estate” alone garners over 15 million hits when entered in the social media app’s search engine). Whether you’re buying, selling, or just like to look, here are a few accounts you might like to add to your feed.

Don’t go trying to play ball in this house. For the first time in nearly half a century, one of TV’s most famous homes is back on the market. The home used as the exterior for The Brady Bunch, a 3 bed, 3 bath that supposedly held six kids, two parents, and a housekeeper, is located just north of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley, and is listed by Ernie Carswell of Douglas Elliman for $1.88 million.

Find yourself dreaming of the ornate millwork, pocket doors, and sleeping porches of yesterday’s homes? You’ll definitely want to add these must-follow accounts to your Instagram feed. From stately Colonials, to fetching farmhouses, and everything in between, the historic homes featured on this popular account are all up for grabs if you want to make that dream house a reality.

Hollywood’s Star Tour buses race around the windy streets of 90210 pointing out the homes of Brad Pitt, Gwen Stefani, or Quentin Tarantino. The glitz and glam of Hollywood looks a bit different now than the old Hollywood of yesteryear, where houses weren’t massive structures behind gilded gates, but charming homes tucked between trees.

Meryl Streep’s home, like Meryl Streep, could be or do anything. It could be a designed in the Grecian bohemian styled laid back vibe like her persona in Mamma Mia, all the way to the more proper and posh digs of her character in Florence Foster Jenkins. In actuality, the Tribeca home—a penthouse in the River Lofts at 92 Laight Street—is somewhere in between, and it’s been listed for a whopping $24.6 million.

After years of renting in San Francisco and Oakland, we bought a home in Walnut Creek (a small city in the Bay Area) for $545,000 in 2010—when the market was relatively slow. The house was the smallest model in a 1960s neighborhood at 1,445 square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. But it sat on a spacious 9,375-square-foot lot. It was a dream cosmetic fixer. Over seven years, we made it our own.

Despite being a writer, I’m not a natural over-sharer. The words flow freely enough when I’m talking about design, but I’m much more guarded in my own life. But I realized that most advice is inherently personal and comes from experience, so once I overcame the icky feeling, I knew it was time to write about being robbed. Becoming a statistic isn’t so bad, I figure, if I can help someone else avoid it.

No matter how large the structure, there’s something powerful about the architecture of a building that was once a church. And I think there’s nothing quite as lovely as saving an old building from being demolished by repurposing it as something else. And that’s just what these six structures have in common. Once houses of worship, they’re now homes. The home was originally an Anglican church.

If you’re a frequent “FixerUpper” viewer, then you may remember the Prickly Pear House from last year. Named for its giant, overgrown cactus in the front yard, the four-bed, three-and-a-half bath home in Woodway, Texas was entirely overhauled thanks to Chip and Joanna Gaines. And the best part? It can now be yours if you’re willing to drop $499,000. Built in 1980, the 3444-square-foot home is located on a beautiful tree-filled lot on over half an acre of land.

The HGTV Dream is going up—and not just in altitude. According to PEOPLE, the 2019 Dream Home is the priciest one yet—valued at over $2.3 million. And as of Friday, the sweepstakes to win the home is now open. “Imagine a place where the mountains meet the sky, where nature wild and untamed greets you at your doorstep, where every season brings a new adventure.

This could be considered the next best thing to owning an original Frank Lloyd Wright-designed property: a house inspired by the renowned architect’s approach to architecture. The dwelling we’re referencing is a Portland, Oregon home designed by architect Stephen Mayer. Completed in 1957, the residence at 3620 NE Liberty Street pays homage to Wright’s iconic midcentury aesthetic.

On January 24th, “Broad City” returns to Comedy Central for its fifth and final season. For the last five years, viewers have watched Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer play fictional versions of themselves trying to navigate New York City as 20-something women. We have watched this story play out in many different ways on television, from shows like “Friends,” to “Sex and the City,” to “Gossip Girl,” to “The Bold Type.

Brooklyn Decker is a woman of many talents: she’s a regular on the Netflix series “Grace and Frankie,” the co-founder of digital wardrobe system Finery, and, as her North Carolina home proves, she has a great eye for design. Their main residence is in Austin, but Brooklyn and husband Andy Roddick also have a second home in the little town of Cashiers, North Carolina, an hour and a half southwest of Asheville in the Nantahala National Forest.

With the release on Team Coco of 25 years of show clips, we took a look back into some of our favorite bits from Conan O’Brien’s past. One of our favorites is this one, where Conan goes alongside show writer Andy Blitz (you may remember him as one-third of the Slipnutz, the group of guys that slipped on nuts). It’s a funny look at how apartment hunting in cities is generally a painful experience…and how much prices have changed in New York.

Last year, HGTV shelled out $3.5 million to get its hands on a nostalgic piece of famous TV real estate, but here’s another opportunity to live in another “Brady Bunch” house – as a tenant. Located in Studio City, the owners are looking to rent the property for $12,500 a month. Fans of the popular ’70s sitcom know the Fryman Canyon Estates residence as the home Mike Brady shared with his three sons before uniting with Carol and her three very lovely girls.

Think the tiny home trend is adorable—but more so in an aspirational kind of way? Instead of committing to downsizing your life into 300 square feet (or less!), you can give the trend a test run at one of these tiny home hotels. These five resorts excel when it comes to cozy and quaint getaways. The best part? They’re pretty affordable, too, with rates starting at $75 a night. The newest tiny home hotel to make its grand (or petite?

Whether you’ve just signed your first lease (yay!) or you’ve been renting for a while, you know that home decor updates can be limited. Not all landlords will allow you to paint a room a brilliant poppy red or knock out a wall for more natural light.

Here’s your chance to own a piece of rock n’ rock real estate history. The Michigan home of iconic singer/author Patti Smith has officially hit the market, and the three-bed, one-and-a-half bath Tudor beauty is straight out of a fairy tale. But here’s a unique twist: the realtor is her son, Jackson Smith.Located in St. Clair Shores, the 2116-square-foot brick home, which is listed at $499,000, sits on the canal of Lake St. Clair.