The Latest Real-Estate Trend? Coloring Books for Grown-Ups

F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal

Looking for that perfect country cottage? Or is a grand Victorian more your style? Whatever your taste, here’s a chance to create the home of your dreams. Just break out the crayons.

An increasing number of adult coloring books focus solely on real estate and cityscapes. With titles like “Houses, Houses, Houses,” “Color at Home” and “Fantastic Cities,” the books offer a creative diversion as well as a way to experiment with color palettes. Real-estate agents and firms are taking it a step further, using the books in business.

Last year, New York City developer Naftali Group released a coloring book featuring images of its projects, including the Seymour condominium in Chelsea and 210 West 77th Street on the Upper West Side. Luxury brokerage Christie’s International Real Estate is preparing to distribute its first-ever coloring books of for-sale properties to clients in their showrooms world-wide. As an added touch, the brokerage includes a box of crayons—branded with the Christie’s logo—with the books. Christie’s agents can also special-order additional copies to hand out to customers.

Dan Conn, the brokerage’s chief executive, said the company’s affiliates and agents can pay $3,500 for a two-page spread in the book, which will have a full-color listing photo across from a black-and-white illustration that can be colored in. He said that the proceeds will be donated to a charity benefiting hurricane victims in Puerto Rico.

When reminded of the popularity of coloring books among adults, Mr. Conn joked that the company may have misjudged its audience. “We thought it would be a nice thing for kids,” he said. “I guess there’s a scenario where the adults also say ‘I’m going to color that in.’”

In New York, Fern Hammond, an agent at Halstead, said she bought about 10 adult coloring books when she first saw them a few years ago, thinking “this would be great to give away at an open house.” Ms. Hammond, who studied art in the past, also enjoys working on the coloring books herself. “They’re very relaxing to do,” she said. “I find it much nicer than watching television.”

Full-color illustrations in the ‘Victorian Houses’ architecture coloring book.

F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal

Her first batch of adult coloring books had images of nature and patterns, not homes. But she loves the idea of the “Color at Home” coloring book, she said, and plans to buy some to give to clients, who often ask her for suggestions about how to decorate their homes in preparation for a sale or after buying a new place. “That would be a great tool,” she said.

Real-estate agent Janine Bear, of Coldwell Banker Distinctive Properties in Sun Valley, said she recently started attending coloring events hosted by a local women’s group. Aside from being a fun social activity and networking opportunity, she said she also enjoyed the coloring. “It allows me to go mindless and focus on the peacock feathers,” she said.

Coloring books for adults are a far cry from those aimed at children. “Fantastic Cities,” by illustrator Steve McDonald, features intricate line drawings of building exteriors around the world. Mr. McDonald said the drawings are “insanely detailed,” as he tried to depict every window and door of the neighborhoods he saw while traveling, from East 60th Street in Manhattan to the Rocinha favela in Rio.

He had modest expectations. “We thought we’d maybe sell 10,000,” he said. Instead, the 2015 book had four reprints in six months, eventually selling more than 400,000 copies, he said. “We couldn’t keep up” with demand for the books, Mr. McDonald recalled.

He believes that the book is appealing in part because it depicts real places. “You get to see into everyone’s backyards and rooftop patios,” he said.

Jennifer Feldman of Dover Publications, one of the largest publishers of adult coloring books in the U.S., said its title “Victorian Houses” has had strong sales. For adults, the appeal of coloring homes may be that “it feels personal—it feels comforting,” she said.

A ‘Victorian Houses’ illustration that’s ready for creative coloring.

F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal

Some 12 million adult coloring books of all themes were sold in 2015, up from 1 million in 2014, according to Nielsen BookScan. But Ms. Feldman said overall sales of adult coloring books have waned recently. While her company is still committed to producing coloring books for grown-ups, she said, “the peak of the adult coloring book craze is a little bit behind us.”

To stay relevant, some coloring-book authors go beyond mere illustrations. Just a few months ago, Henry and Kate L. Harrison, a father-daughter team, released “Houses, Houses, Houses,” a coloring book with early-American homes and definitions of architectural styles and terms, such as “balustrade” and “nogging.” The Harrisons envision the book being used by real-estate agents, appraisers and others to learn basic architectural terms. “It’s a really fun way to learn,” said Ms. Harrison, 39, who lives in St. Mary’s City, Md.

Two years ago, Sherry and John Petersik released “Color at Home: a Young House Love Coloring Book,” which their publisher, Peter Licalzi of Blue Star Press and Paige Tate & Co., said is one of the company’s top-selling books.

In addition to coloring pages, it contains exercises to help readers make design decisions at home, with the goal being “to have fun and get a better idea of what they’re attracted to,” said Ms. Petersik, 36, who with her husband started the popular home-improvement blog “Young House Love.” One page asks readers to color the same group of household accessories in four different color combinations, for example. “It’s zero commitment to color your curtains a bright color in the coloring book, versus buying the curtains,” said Ms. Petersik, who lives near Richmond, Va.

She also quipped that real-estate coloring books have some practical advantages over real-life homes: “It’s great for turning off your brain and coloring beautiful rooms you never have to dust.” Even better, she added, “the plants will never die.”

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Hawaii Homes in Lava’s Path Were Built Decades Ago Despite Geologic Threat

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When Rob Holcombe and his husband bought a studio on Hawaii’s Big Island in 2015, they knew it was in an active volcano zone.

But the Berkeley, Calif., couple had fallen in love with the place and gambled that molten lava would stay away from the forested getaway overlooking the Pacific that Mr. Holcombe describes as a “Garden of Eden.”

“We figured we could get insurance, and it was worth the risk,” said the 52-year-old computer programmer. The couple did get insurance, but it won’t cover much lava damage.

Their second home is one of hundreds threatened by renewed eruption at Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, which has already destroyed more than 80 houses and other structures, threatened a geothermal power plant and forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents since May 3.

Rob Holcombe, left, and his husband, Christian Jusinski, bought a home in Puna Beach Palisades on Hawaii’s Big Island in 2015.

Rob Holcombe and Christian Jusinski

The properties are in subdivisions built decades ago as part of an ambitious development push by local officials, despite geologic maps at the time that showed the areas were in hazard zones for lava.

An impetus for the development was providing a new revenue source after Hawaii became a state in 1959, said Mary Begier, a realtor in Hilo, Hawaii. At the time, the remote lots weren’t intended to hold homes because they lacked basic infrastructure, she said.

Over time, thousands of homes sprung up as the area, known as lower Puna, became one of the most affordable places to live in the Aloha State. A three-bedroom home there costs as little as $200,000, or about half the $400,000 median home price on Hawaii’s largest island. Some more expensive homes have been built there in recent years.

“It’s easy to say in hindsight we shouldn’t have done that,” Ms. Begier said, referring to the development. “But where would those families be if we had not done that?”

A destroyed home in the Leilani Estates neighborhood

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Gavan Daws, a Honolulu-based historian, said developers early on played down the volcanic risk.

“Would you offer land for sale and tell the people there is a volcano and stress the word ‘active’?” asked Mr. Daws, who co-wrote the 1985 book “Land and Power in Hawaii: The Democratic Years,” which chronicles how land projects in the 1950s and ’60s turned lava fields below the world’s most active volcano into subdivisions with thousands of homes.

Daryn Arai, deputy planning director for Hawaii County, said many of the subdivisions in question were created in the 1960s before the county came out with detailed lava-flow hazard maps a decade later. “So I can only assume that these subdivisions were permitted based on the limited information available at that time,” Mr. Arai said.

Lono Lyman, who served as county planning director in the 1980s and manages 4,500 acres of family-owned land in the eruption zone, said shortsightedness on the part of local developers helped drive the development.

“People wanted to make a buck, and it was cheap land being sold,” said the 70-year-old Mr. Lyman. “They saw an opportunity.”

About 200 acres of Mr. Lyman’s mostly agricultural land have been inundated with lava in the latest eruption. But Mr. Lyman played down the impact on his own property, saying he is most concerned for the residents who are losing their homes.

Even some builders say developers never should have built homes in the lava fields. “It was a real lush, green forest, but I don’t think they should have built a subdivision there because there was a lava flow underneath,” said Mark Ferreira, a general contractor in Hilo. “They should have known better.“

Though precise risk-assessment maps didn’t come out until the 1970s, the hazards were well known: Federal officials say lava-flow hazard maps were available for the Kilauea area since the 1940s, and the volcano had erupted at least a dozen times in the century before land sales began in earnest in the 1960s.

“Anybody who lived over there knew very well about the dangers of the volcano,” said George Cooper, a former Hawaii lawyer who specializes in land issues and who co-wrote the book with Mr. Daws. He said many of the initial sales of undeveloped lots were directed at buyers from out of state.

“They thought people would want to buy a piece of Hawaii, and the prices were so low,” said Mr. Cooper, who now lives in Cambodia.

In 1983, after a lull, Kilauea rumbled back to life and has remained in a continuous eruption since. Some communities were inundated by lava soon after, and over the years hundreds of homes have been lost.

What has alarmed local officials this time is the fact that the latest eruption has occurred about a dozen miles away from the previous site, in an area that hasn’t erupted in more than a half-century and where many homes are concentrated.

“This is like a new phase of the long-term eruption,” said Michael Poland, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Vancouver, Wash. “In this area, eruptions tend to last weeks to months. The longer it goes on, the more potential there will be additional areas will be impacted.”

That uncertainty has set the general lower Puna community on edge. Like many home buyers, Mr. Holcombe said he and his husband, Christian Jusinski, were drawn there by the relaxed, junglelike setting. The deck on the two-story home they bought in Puna Beach Palisades for $300,000 overlooks the ocean.

The couple had planned to retire there in a year, but if the home gets swallowed up by lava, their insurance won’t nearly cover the losses, Mr. Holcombe said.

“It’ll be a massive stress in our retirement plans if the house is lost,” Mr. Holcombe said from California. “The loss of the area, the dream, is unimaginable.”

Jim Oberman contributed to this article.

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Ellen DeGeneres Reportedly Flips Marvelous Montecito Estate for $11M

Randy Holmes via Getty Images; realtor.com

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has done it again. She and her wife, actress Portia de Rossi, have orchestrated a successful off-market flip in Montecito, CA, for $11 million, Variety reports. The couple snapped up the equestrian estate, known as Rancho San Leandro, eight short months ago for $7.2 million. Which makes the sale impressive and profitable.

Despite being ravaged by mud slides earlier this year, the picturesque coastal community offers exclusive and highly desirable real estate.

This stunning and historic horse property includes almost 6 acres of olive groves, rose gardens, private courtyards, verandas, and professional-quality equestrian facilities in a guard-gated facility.

The beautiful compound with ocean and mountain views includes an original 2,750-square-foot adobe structure from 1850, as well as an addition from 2004. The spread has four bedrooms and 4.5 baths.

Rancho San Leandro

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Courtyard

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50-foot-long living and dining room

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The dramatic 50-foot-long living and dining space features fireplaces on either end. The country kitchen features an original copper sink and large counter. A breakfast room with French doors opens to gardens, and the master bedroom comes with a fireplace. The billiard room and wine cellar are downstairs. Finishes include adobe walls and tiled floors.

The 3,600-square-foot guesthouse is accessible through the central courtyard. The layout includes a sunken living room with stone fireplace, full kitchen, and French doors that open to a covered porch.

Connecting the two buildings is an impressive outdoor entertainment area a fireplace, and dining and sitting areas.

Another bonus: You’re neighbors with Oprah! This property adjoins the media mogul’s 40-acre estate, known as the Promised Land.

DeGeneres and de Rossi sold a luxury Los Angeles condo for $5.85 million earlier this year.

The post Ellen DeGeneres Reportedly Flips Marvelous Montecito Estate for $11M appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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Why this top-selling Houston Realtor drove 36,000 miles for a college degree at 50

“Honestly, I can’t believe I did it."

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Follow in the Blessed Steps of Beyonce, and Buy One of These 11 Churches for Sale

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If everything megastar Beyoncé does serves as inspiration to you, perhaps it’s time to consider emulating her latest real estate move—buying her own church.

There’s actually a lot to praise about the century-old house of worship in New Orleans’ Garden District that Queen Bey picked up for around $850,000. There are the history and roots of a holy structure, the distinctive architecture, and the open spaces ready for creative transformations.

But buyers should beware of beginning a revival project. If a church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a buyer is limited in what can be changed. There’s also the possibility that a church property includes a graveyard, which means it could be subject to state and local regulations as well. In many Southern states, courts have allowed relatives the right to access the private cemeteries where their family members are buried.

If those regulatory considerations haven’t dashed your hopes of owning your own church, we’ve found 11 former churches currently on the market. Get in formation and Godspeed.

456 Delphine Ave N, Waynesboro, VA

Price: $167,000
Divine details: Built in 1973, this spacious brick church has two full kitchens. Current zoning allows the building to be converted into a duplex, which could be a blessed income opportunity. Right now, the building is configured as a five-bedroom, two-bathroom, single-family home.

Waynesboro, VA

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212 N. Broadway, Oaktown, IN

Price: $49,900
Divine details: This is one holy bargain! Built in 1950 and featuring original wood floors, this little white church was converted into a three-bedroom home. Upgrades include Corian countertops and updated cabinets in the kitchen.

Oaktown, IN

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50 School Street, Carlisle, MA

Price: $945,000
Divine details: This high-drama house of worship has it all—the steeple, high ceilings, and stained glass—and is located in a prime part of West Boston. The 6,000-square-foot main house has four bedrooms. On the lower level, there’s a one-bedroom apartment with a private driveway and entrance. There are also two office suites and a detached two-car garage with storage space. The property, excluding the offices, is also available for rent for $3,000 a month.

Carlisle, MA

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3680 Wagner Ford Road, Dayton, OH

Price: $62,900
Divine details: A fixer-upper from heaven above? Built in 1925, the building has a new roof and updated electric and plumbing, but the interiors are ready to be turned into something special. The stained glass is original and mostly intact. A private company owns and maintains the cemetery surrounding the property.

Dayton, OH

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68 Main Street, Woodstock, NH

Price: $249,900
Divine details: Registered as a National Historic Landmark, this darling church is located in the woods of the White Mountains. The 3,000-square-foot building, whose exterior has been beautifully preserved, doesn’t have any zoning restrictions, so it could be used as a residence or business. Built in 1950, it has an open floor plan with two bathrooms.

Woodstock, NH

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119 Church Road, New Marlborough, MA

Price: $450,000
Divine details: This picture-perfect church with a red door is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building, which has been converted into a modern residence, would be an ideal retreat for artists, musicians, and even families, according to the listing. Built in 1871, the 3,000-square-foot structure has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a working church bell.

Marlborough, MA

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208 West Kearney Street, Philipsburg, MT

Price: $495,000
Divine details: This quirky medieval-themed inn was originally a church built in 1900. The inn has three bedrooms, outdoor decks, and hot tubs. It comes with two cabins. Tourists are drawn to the Victorian mountain’s hunting, fishing, and skiing opportunities.

Philipsburg, MT

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313 W High Street, Springfield, OH

Price: $800,000
Divine details: If it is written that you’re ready to become a landlord, have a look at this church. This modern-looking investment opportunity was built in 1900 and is currently being rented by a private school operator for $6,000 a month.

Springfield, OH

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9818 Lower River Road, Louisville, KY

Price: $195,000
Divine details: This brick building on an acre and a half was constructed in 1965. The main floor features several large rooms, including a kitchen and dining hall. The lower level could be used as a day care or other business. Upstairs, the living quarters include two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen.

Louisville, KY

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223 West Jackson Street, Spring Grove, PA

Price: $298,000
Divine details: Have the whole congregation over! The purchase price includes a 6,400-square-foot church, a three-bedroom home, and 45 parking spaces on a half-acre lot. The distinctive green roof was added in 2015.

Spring Grove, PA

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2521 Winchester Road, Xenia, OH

Price: $154,900
Divine details: Built in 1878, this Ohio church on a 1-acre lot could still function as a house of worship. The main sanctuary seats between 60 and 70 people. The building also includes an office, fellowship hall with open kitchen, and two half-baths. If a buyer intends to use the property as a church, it will remain exempt from property taxes.

Xenia, OH

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Ex-NBA Player Kris Humphries Dribbling Away From His Lake Minnetonka Home

John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Former NBA player Kris Humphries, best known for his brief marriage to reality TV star Kim Kardashian, is now ending his relationship with his Lake Minnetonka home in Mound, MN. He’s listed it for $1.65 million, the Los Angeles Times first reported.

The Minneapolis-born Humphries last played with the Atlanta Hawks, and bought this lake house for $1.55 million in 2006, the year it was built.

The “like-new” retreat offers four bedrooms, 3.5 baths, and 4,000 square feet, with much of the main level showcasing water views through walls of windows. The open-plan main level includes a large kitchen with high-end appliances, a built-in buffet, and wet bar. There’s also a living room with a dual-sided fireplace, a formal dining room, as well as a casual eating space. The home also includes an office.

The master suite can be found on the first level, with the three additional bedrooms plus laundry upstairs, and a handy elevator to access all floors.

Exterior

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Living room

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Lake views

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Outdoors, the photos reveal a paved patio, lounge area, barbecue, and stone fireplace overlooking the shoreline. We’re guessing this vacation abode shows best in the warmer months, although hearty locals can most likely enjoy this serene spot year round—it’s under an hour’s drive from Minneapolis.

The lanky Humphries, a long-time NBA forward before ending his career in 2017, has also dabbled in the real estate game. He reportedly sold his Miami penthouse in 2014 for $1.7 million, pocketing a profit for a place he bought for just under $1 million in 2008.

The 33-year-old began his pro career with the Utah Jazz in 2004, and played with a number of teams over his 13-year career in the NBA.

However, he gained the most fame off-court, thanks to his whirlwind relationship with Kardashian, which began in 2010. It culminated in a two-part special, which televised their wedding on her E! network show. After 72 days of marriage, the duo split in 2011, and finalized their divorce in 2013.

Jeffrey Dewing of Coldwell Banker Burnet holds the listing.

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After Harvey, Texas Town Looks to Fortify in State With No Mandatory Building Code

Eddie Seal for The Wall Street Journal

ROCKPORT, Texas—After Hurricane Harvey thrashed their coastal home here last year, tearing off chunks of roof and leaving a sodden shell, Bill and Susan O’Bryant vowed: Never again.

They are now rebuilding a well-armored home, adhering to stringent building standards devised by the insurance industry that exceed local code requirements. The house’s roof, floors and foundation are fastened together with steel straps, the windows are made of impact-resistant glass, and the roof is specially sealed and nailed down.

“We really wouldn’t do this any other way,” said Mr. O’Bryant, a 74-year-old retired restaurateur.

As the start of a new hurricane season looms on June 1, homeowners along this stretch of Texas coast—which Harvey pounded with 130-mile-an-hour winds before steering north to drench Houston—are grappling with how to build back stronger. Some officials and residents are calling for stiffer standards to create sturdier homes, while others fear that excessive requirements could financially burden homeowners.

It is a debate that has surfaced repeatedly in coastal communities from Texas to New York in the wake of ruinous storms. In an era of rising sea levels and intense hurricanes, measures to harden buildings are key to ensure communities remain viable, risk consultants say. They also make properties more attractive to insurance carriers—essential to create a robust insurance market that can provide homeowners with sufficient coverage at affordable rates.

“If you’re not mitigating risk, you’re not going to have a healthy market,” said Jeffrey Czajkowski, managing director of the Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

A study released last year by the National Institute of Building Sciences found that every $1 of federal grant money spent to mitigate the risks of natural hazards avoids $6 in losses.

Because the U.S. has no mandatory national building code, states and localities adopt their own. After Hurricane Andrew struck Florida in 1992, Miami-Dade County toughened its building requirements, mandating more-robust roof systems and strengthening testing standards for construction products. Florida then passed a statewide building code in 2002 that is among the strictest in the U.S.

A string of destructive hurricanes in 2004 and 2005 led to another round of code upgrades in eastern and Gulf Coast cities and states. Soon after emerged the new set of standards the O’Bryants in Rockport adopted: a program dubbed “Fortified” created by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, a research organization funded by insurers.

The guidelines—which draw on decades of storm-damage investigations—cover many aspects of a home but emphasize protecting the roof, which can expose a dwelling to significant damage if it fails. Homes can earn ratings of gold, silver or bronze depending on the provisions builders adopt.

In Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and North Carolina, homeowners in some areas who build to Fortified standards qualify for insurance discounts or other incentives. The program has gained the most traction in Alabama, where about 7,000 properties are designated Fortified, out of some 8,200 in the U.S. as a whole.

After the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, which resulted in more than $80 billion in insured losses, carriers began to retreat from the Southeastern coastline. Carl Schneider, an insurance agent in Mobile, Ala., helped assemble a group to press coastal Alabama officials to incorporate the Fortified standards into local building codes. Many cities and counties did.

Meantime, the Alabama Legislature and insurance department implemented measures between 2009 and 2014 mandating that insurance carriers provide premium discounts of as much as 55% to residents who build homes to Fortified standards. “That sped the process up,” said Lannie Smith, chief building official in Orange Beach, Ala.

A study last year by the Alabama Center for Insurance Information and Research found that homes built to Fortified standards had resale values 7% higher than those built conventionally.

Damaged condos are being repaired near Key Allegro, an area of Rockport on the waterfront. More than 160 of some 860 homes and condos there have to be demolished.

Eddie Seal for The Wall Street Journal

In Texas, which has no statewide building code, municipalities are considering whether to adopt new standards. Rockport implemented the 2012 version of the International Residential Code, a model building code used in jurisdictions around the U.S. that the Fortified standards exceed.

During Harvey, newer homes built to the current code fared better than older ones, but damage was nevertheless widespread, local officials say. In Key Allegro, an area of Rockport on the waterfront where the O’Bryants live, more than 160 of some 860 homes and condos have to be demolished, and hundreds more suffered substantial damage.

Soon after the storm, some Key Allegro residents learned about the Fortified standards. The homeowners association found the program appealing and it voted last year to adopt the standards in its deed restrictions.

“It was simple, it was proven and it was funded by the insurance industry,” said Dave Foster, president of the Key Allegro homeowners association. “I want to do everything possible to ensure that we get private underwriters back in there.”

Private insurers largely pulled back from coastal Texas after 2005—though some have returned in recent years—leaving most residents to rely on the state’s insurer of last resort, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, or TWIA.

The new Fortified standards, which are voluntary, haven’t been universally embraced. Builders complained about having to learn and comply with a new set of strictures. Some residents feared the program would boost building costs at a time when residents were reeling financially from the storm—even though insurance analysts say it adds only about 1% to 3% to a home’s price tag.

William Weempe, whose Key Allegro house lost a large section of its roof and became waterlogged, still hasn’t begun rebuilding because of disputes with his insurer, TWIA. He said he fears the eventual payment he receives will cover only a fraction of the actual reconstruction cost—a shortfall exacerbated by having to build to stricter guidelines.

“It’s somewhat like kicking you when you’re down,” said Mr. Weempe, a 59-year-old wealth adviser.

Still, officials in Rockport are considering rolling out the Fortified program more widely—aiming in part to create more insurance options for homeowners. City leaders are treating Key Allegro—where so far about a dozen homeowners are rebuilding to Fortified standards—as a pilot project. “We have to see how the community is going to take it,” said Amanda Torres, the city’s community planner.

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Golfer Stuart Appleby Takes a Swing at Selling His Florida Home for $3.1M

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Pro golfer Stuart Appleby is hoping for a hole-in-one with his Windermere, FL, home, now on the market for $3.1 million. 

According to property records, the home was purchased in 2009 for $625,000. So the golfer stands to pocket a hefty profit if he manages to score his asking price.

The home is perfect for those who need to practice their golf swing. The lakefront residence is in the Isleworth Golf and Country Club, where residents can take advantage of the championship golf course and Lake Bessie views. 

Golfer Stuart Appleby’s home

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Living room with lake views

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Office and trophy room

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Kitchen with granite counters and travertine flooring

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Pool and spa

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The 5,557-square-foot abode offers five bedrooms and six bathrooms, and sits on a half-acre surrounded by lush Florida landscaping.

French doors open to a formal living room with large picture windows looking out to the lake. The adjacent formal dining room leads into the kitchen, which offers granite counters and travertine floors. The kitchen then opens to a breakfast nook and family room, all with lake views. There’s also a wine cellar with an Old World wooden door. The home office and trophy room (clearly, a golf champ needs that space) features built-in wood shelving. 

The newly updated and spacious master suite includes a sitting area. Upstairs also offers three more bedrooms, in addition to a home theater complete with wet bar and soundproof walls. 

Outside sports a pool and spa as well as an outdoor kitchen, and a terrace with views of nightly sunsets, where you can watch the fireworks display from the area’s theme parks—Windermere is close to Orlando. 

The 47-year-old Australian has won nine times on the PGA Tour. In 2010, he won the Comeback Player of the Year award.

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We’re Sure Pharrell Williams Will Be Happy With Tyler Perry’s Beverly Hills Flip

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)

Headlines were made last year when entertainment mogul Tyler Perry bought a gigantic glass mansion on a hill near Mulholland Estates for $14.5 million. Six months later—without having slept a night there—Perry put the estate back on the market for $17 million.

The property is back in the news again, because chart-topping producer and musician Pharrell Williams has swooped in to take the place off Perry’s hands for $15.6 million.

Although Williams’ offer was $1.4 million shy of the listing price, the “Medea” creator will see a $1.1 million profit. It’s not too shabby, considering Perry reportedly didn’t make any renovations to the home.

The home was built in 1992 for billionaire philanthropist Alfred Mann, who lived there until his death in 2016. That year, the mansion was listed for just under $30 million. After a year, the price was reduced to $15 million, and the house was eventually sold to Perry for a discount.

Exterior

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The 10-bedroom, 11-bathroom home measures 17,245 square feet. It still has a ’90s vibe and resembles a public building with its green glass facade. It sits on 4.25 acres in the hills between Beverly Hills and Sherman Oaks.

Dining room

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Built for entertaining, it has two stone-lined pools with a grotto and slide, a lighted and sunken tennis court, and an outdoor dining terrace. The carport can hold 30 vehicles.

Elaborate pool

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What Williams has in mind for the property is anyone’s guess. With all those hard surfaces, staircases, and sharp angles, there are very few blurred lines. It’s also not exactly child-friendly, which could be an issue for the 10-time Grammy winner and his wife, Helen Lasichanh, who have young children.

Staircases

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However, the family does have other options. Williams also owns the famous “Skyine Residence” in Laurel Canyon, as well as a luxurious waterfront home in Virginia Beach, VA.

The post We’re Sure Pharrell Williams Will Be Happy With Tyler Perry’s Beverly Hills Flip appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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Owner of energy management company selling Ladue home for $6.3 million

"Designed by architect Dick Busch, the home was created to mirror majestic 18th century castles of France's Loire Valley," states a description on Realtor.com. The home was built by a couple whose husband is founder and president of a company that designs and installs energy management programs for large industrial companies. The wife is an actress. Listed for $6.35 million, it's currently the most expensive home on the market in Ladue. It has a two-story dining room that opens to a library on…

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Reforming Lending Reform: 3 Things Home Buyers Should Know About the New Law

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On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed legislation rolling back some of the lending restrictions enacted in response to the housing boom and bust. While the new law doesn’t entirely do away with those financial reforms, it does have some significant implications for home buyers.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act imposed stricter rules around lending for both borrowers and lenders, in an attempt to shut down the careless mortgage lending that laid the groundwork for the housing crash. Critics, however, have said that these stricter rules have made it too difficult for anyone to get a loan, hobbling the real estate market.

The new law aims to open up access to credit by loosening regulations on small- and medium-size banks. Since the new law doesn’t change the rules for the largest banks, it shouldn’t make the financial system much riskier than it is now. Here’s what home buyers should know:

1. Alternative credit-scoring models could help those without traditional credit files

The reform law encourages Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to explore alternative credit score models. Research shows that 26 million American adults don’t have credit history with one of the three nationwide credit-reporting companies and that black, Hispanic, and low-income consumers are more likely to be part of this “credit invisible” group. New models could use data left out of current models, such as rent payments, that might help lenders evaluate the creditworthiness of more would-be borrowers.

2. Looser underwriting rules could make mortgages more plentiful

Loans from lenders with less than $10 billion in assets would be exempt from some of the Dodd-Frank mortgage underwriting standards, as long as they hold onto the loans rather than selling them. While this should encourage lenders to lend, not all of them are willing to hold loans in portfolio. But as mortgage rates rise, banks may become more willing to take on some portfolio loans, opening up more options for borrowers.

3. Reducing the number of lenders subject to HMDA reporting could encourage more lending

Ever since the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975, financial institutions had to meet certain standards for location, asset size, and other metrics to determine whether they were required to report characteristics of loan applications and their outcomes. This reporting meant extra paperwork and costs for the lender.

One of the tests was the number of home purchase loans or first-lien refinance loans that the institution originated. Depending on the type of institution, reporting requirements could be triggered by as few as one to 25 loans over the past year. The new rule raises this requirement to 500 loans in each of the two previous calendar years.

This should reduce the reporting and costs for small-scale lenders, and hopefully make them more willing to make those mortgage loans—another win for home buyers.

Of course, this may have an impact on the quantity of data gathered as a result of HMDA. This has been useful to researchers seeking to understand the housing finance market, and particularly the degree to which lenders are serving needs in their communities, especially among underserved populations. The new law requests that a study be conducted to assess the impact of this reform on the amount of data available.

Credit freezes—and unfreezes—are now free

One last change the law makes is a requirement that credit-reporting agencies enable consumers to freeze and unfreeze their credit without charge.

With 143 million individuals affected by the Equifax data breach alone, limiting the damage data leaks can do to your credit is important for everyone, but particularly home shoppers who are going to rely on their credit score to help them qualify for a mortgage. After checking to make sure everything is correct, home shoppers can freeze their credit until they are ready to work with a lender. This will help ensure that when it comes time to apply for a mortgage, there shouldn’t be any major surprises.

The post Reforming Lending Reform: 3 Things Home Buyers Should Know About the New Law appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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Shaquille O’Neal’s $28M Mansion Slam Dunks All Foes and Grabs Title of Most Popular Home

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This week’s most popular home on realtor.com® housed NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal. The massive man of many monikers is selling his 31,000-square-foot mansion for a Shaq-sized $28 million, and fans couldn’t help but click on the listing.

It’s everything you’d expect from a 7-foot superstar—and so much more! Dubbed Shaq-apulco, the space includes built-in double sofas, a ginormous dining table, and matching chairs that appear large enough to host oversize ballers. There’s also a humidor and wine cellar for chilling out, along with a 6,000-square-foot indoor basketball court (of course) for when you’re ready to break a sweat.

This week’s runner-up is a groovy pad in Northern California with its own pub and pizza oven. The 10-acre spread also includes an infinity pool, fruit trees, and vineyards.

We also fell in love with an amazing beach house in Cambria that looks as if it has been kept in immaculate condition for over 50 years. “This particular property is riding this amazing Mid-Century Modern wave,” says listing agent Laura McKinney.

For now, we invite you to hang 10 with the full list of this week’s most popular properties…

10. 2108 Cherry St, Vicksburg, MS

Price: $200,000
Why it’s here: A National Registered Historic Property, Feld House is “Mississippi’s outstanding example of Mediterranean Romanesque Architecture.” Since we reported on the Italian-inspired villa in the unlikely locale of Mississippi a couple of months ago, the price has dropped by $15,000. Zoned for commercial or residential, this historic home is an absolute steal.

Vicksburg, MS

realtor.com

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9. 101 Seergreen Way, Folsom, CA

Price: $199,000
Why it’s here: Paging the “Flip or Flop” crew! This is your chance to fix up a fire-damaged home and pocket a profit. The kitchen has already been remodeled, and the fire damage is said to be contained within the home’s attic and garage.

Folsom, CA

realtor.com

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8. 179 Deerfield Ln, Hanover, MA 

Price: $889,999
Why it’s here: Here’s a turn-key home ready for a summer move-in. Built in 2000, this four-bedroom Colonial is in great shape. The main level includes a high-end kitchen that opens to a family room with fireplace, as well as a formal living room and dining room. Upstairs, you find the bedrooms, as well as a bonus space. The finished basement features a sports pub, game room area for billiards, and walk-out sliding door to a 4-acre backyard with walking trails. 

Hanover, MA

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7. 601 Paxinosa Rd E, Easton, PA

Price: $1,075,000
Why it’s here: It’s called SkyView for a reason. This contemporary dwelling offers views on all sides thanks to walls of glass. There’s also a “magazine-worthy” kitchen, sun-filled breakfast room, and atrium that opens to the outside. Outside, entertainment options abound, with a full kitchen, heated pool, and multiple seating areas. 

Easton, PA

realtor.com

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6. 15 Lee St, Franklin, MA

Price: $399,900
Why it’s here: This charming Cape Cod from 1930 has been totally redone, while maintaining its original features. The updated kitchen features quartz countertops and new flooring and opens to the dining room, office, and living room.

Franklin, MA

realtor.com

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5.119 Captains Walk, Milford, CT 

Price: $1,349,000
Why it’s here: This gem looks as if it should be enjoyed during summer months. It’s situated on Gulf Pond, where it’s easy to launch a kayak or small boat. On a cul-de-sac, the home offers water views, a chef’s kitchen, and office space. The Colonial also includes a lower level with gym, bath, wine cellar, and access to the pool. Best of all? It’s within walking distance to town and the train to NYC.

Milford, CT

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4. 2675 Sherwood Dr, Cambria, CA

Price: $1,549,000
Why it’s here: It’s an oceanfront, Mid-Century Modern design from 1967 by artist Warren Leopold, and it’s on the market for the first time in 51 years. Perched on a bluff with ocean views and beach access, this home is a popular vacation rental on the Central California coast. The custom creation, made of glass and redwood, includes one bedroom, one bath, built-in seating, two fireplaces, and a serene setting. “It’s Big Sur style meets Mid-Century Modern, and combines the natural elements and the coastline,” says listing agent Laura McKinney. “It’s amazing.”

Cambria, CA

realtor.com

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3.11665 W Baker Hollow Rd, Columbus, IN

Price: $699,000
Why it’s here: Here’s a rustic retreat. The custom-built lodge on 7.46 acres includes an open floor plan with main-level master suite, Asian walnut floors, a two-story great room, two handmade cedar stairways, and a large patio with a pergola.

Columbus, IN

realtor.com

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2. 8010 Mount Vernon Rd, Auburn, CA

Price: $1,948,000
Why it’s here: Welcome to the tons-of-fun house. It’s all about outdoor entertaining, thanks to a “groovy pub,” made from reclaimed materials, equipped with a pizza oven, barbecue, and smoker. The al fresco features continue with a fire pit, infinity pool, and a garden filled with fruit trees, planter boxes, and vineyards. The five-bedroom bungalow features a huge kitchen, plenty of seating areas, a wine cellar, and multiple decks.

Auburn, CA

realtor.com

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1. 9927 Giffin Ct, Windermere, FL 

Price: $28 million
Why it’s here: NBA great Shaquille O’Neal is selling his 31,000-square-foot Shaq-apulco, the mega-mansion he’s owned since he was a rookie with the Orlando Magic in 1993. The web was intrigued by a few of the Big Diesel’s decor choices, and propelled his home to the top of our chart.

As we reported, the 12-bedroom custom Shaquille chateau includes oversized everything, from the two-story foyer with double staircases to the great room with built-in double sofas and a two-story marble fireplace. It figures that the home also sports a 6,000-square-foot indoor basketball court.

Windermere, FL

realtor.com

The post Shaquille O’Neal’s $28M Mansion Slam Dunks All Foes and Grabs Title of Most Popular Home appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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