The Trulia PR Team’s Favorite Homes on Trulia

At Trulia, we spend a lot of time looking at houses. When you see so many amazing homes on a daily basis, it’s hard to pick a favorite. We challenged our mighty PR team of Ken, Daisy, Cristin and Vanessa to pick their favorite home currently for sale on Trulia and explain why. While each of their chosen homes are stunning, it’s the reason WHY they picked that home that really says it all.

Ken Shuman – Head of Communications

I moved to California almost 13 years ago but I will always be a sucker for cape cod style shingle houses.  This home on the Marblehead Neck is the perfect example of the “summer home” I would love to own one day. Marblehead is cool little town north of Boston with an old school downtown.  Marblehead is also where I used to go to the beach growing up and where we went to see the July 4^th fireworks every year. This home would provide the perfect view and I can picture bbq’ing with my friends and family and making this a new tradition for years to come.

423 Ocean Avenue, Marblehead, MA 01945 – $5,850,000

Daisy Kong – Senior PR Manager

Having just moved to a new house on a hill in Oakland, I thought I would share my dream house in Piedmont, CA – which is part of the “real” Oakland Hills. What I love about this 6-bedroom, 5 full/3partial bath house is its history and style, which brings to life one of my favorite books, “The Great Gatsby.” Built by renowned architect Albert Farr in the 1920s, it features all the classic details and elegance that you don’t see in any of the new, track homes that are built today. What’s even more awesome about this house is that all ancient plumbing and fixtures has already been gutted and updated. Score! As an added bonus, this four-story house includes a library, wine cellar, a grand stone terrace with an outdoor fireplace, two offices, a guest suite with its own kitchen and private entrance.

68 Lincoln Avenue, Piedmont CA – $7,500,000

Cristin Zweig – PR Manager

I’ve always loved to chase the sun. Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my family on the Hawaiian islands, returned in my teens to dance in the Pro Bowl halftime show and other times just to enjoy the spirit of the Islands. While I love a Hawaiian sunset, the only thing I love more is seeing it with friends and family. This is why I am swooning over this massive Maui home. It’s over 11, 000 square feet of living space, which means that there is room for everyone! This magnificent beachfront home has stunning ocean and sunset views. Big and open, the outstanding craftsmanship is visible throughout the two master suites, six guest suites, media room, library, office, and separate caretaker’s quarter (or additional bedrooms). The warm sandy beach and warm Pacific ocean are the backyard of this Kaanapali estate. This needs to be my vacation home – stat!

20 Kai Ala Drive, Lahaina HI – $23,800,000

Vanessa Villatoro – PR Specialist

When I envision my dream home, I see a grand estate that can appeal to every side of my personality. I’m the type of girl who loves a fun night out on the town but can also enjoy a quiet night in. This Paradise Valley home offers the best of both worlds. Located just ten minutes away from the fun nightlife of Scottsdale, the 5-bedroom, 8-bathroom, 9,358 square foot estate mixes traditional décor with modern architecture offering a well-rounded Arizona escape. I love old European and Italian architecture and décor however a modern twist is a must. This home’s traditional architecture and design with its high ceilings, large windows and massive drapes gives it a very homey feel. Its modern exterior landscaping with the pool, fountain and cabana design gives it a sleek finish. I’m a very active person so the lap pool, in-home fitness center, basketball court and tennis court are amazing to have right at your fingertips. On those scorching Arizona nights, a night in hanging out in the library, entertainment center/home theater and/or wine cellar and grotto sound like a dream come true.  Me = obsessed.

Villaresi in Paradise Valley, Arizona – $7,500,000

Those are our favorites. What’s your favorite home on Trulia?

5 Events that Rocked Housing in 2011

Before we welcome in the New Year, Trulia’s Chief Economist looks back at 5 events that really mattered for housing in 2011 – and beyond.

Government, the mortgage industry and forces of nature all shook the housing market in 2011. They had both an immediate impact and slow-burning effects, setting the stage for a bumpy 2012 with more foreclosures, political battles and local market risks.

1) Robo-Signing Reverberations

The “robo-signing” scandal – where banks were accused of approving foreclosures with incomplete or incorrect documentation – exploded in October 2010, but where are we now? Banks want a settlement in order to avoid costly, drawn-out lawsuits. One is shaping up that could reduce loan balances or interest rates for current homeowners, give payments to people who lost their homes and establish new mortgage servicing standards for the future.

Even if you think there’s money coming to you because you lost your home, don’t start spending against your settlement windfall just yet. One estimate from the Wall Street Journal is for a settlement of $25 billion if all states participate. Another report from TIME says that will translate into $1,500-$2,000 for households who were mistreated in the foreclosure process. A couple thousand dollars will give people some breathing room, but it won’t change anyone’s financial lives. And, be patient: it could be months before a deal is reached, an administrator is in place and the details are finalized.

Until that’s all figured out, here’s the immediate drama: who’s in and who’s out? Some states might hold out for a better deal or decide to sue these mortgage servicers directly, as Massachusetts has. California was the first and most vocal state to back out, and New York, Delaware, and Nevada have spoken out, too.

What Really Mattered: The threat of robo-signing lawsuits made banks gun-shy about pursuing foreclosures in 2011, which left many homes stuck in the foreclosure process. But once a settlement is reached, we’ll see a rush of foreclosures in 2012.

2) The Debt Ceiling and the Budget Deficit

The federal government is running a deficit — it is spending more than it collects in taxes and other revenue – so it borrows to cover the gap by issuing debt. When there’s a deficit, we add to the pile of debt. To shrink this pile, the government needs to collect more than it spends (or, if you prefer, spend less than it collects) and use the surplus to reduce the debt.

In August, the government played a game of chicken over whether to raise the debt ceiling – which is really just a formality acknowledging that the deficit requires issuing debt to keep the government going. However, the right way to deal with the debt is to reduce the deficit – not by fighting over the debt ceiling.

Long before the debt ceiling debate and Standard & Poor’s federal credit-rating downgrade, we all knew that the federal budget was in bad shape. The debt ceiling debate rattled the markets and consumer confidence temporarily but interest rates stayed low. The important effect was that Congress created a bipartisan supercommittee to tackle the deficit – but it couldn’t reach agreement by its November deadline.

What Really Mattered: The deficit-reduction supercommittee teased us with some policy proposals that will surely rear their heads again. One idea that both Republicans and Democrats didn’t totally disagree about was reducing the mortgage interest and other tax deductions. If and when that happens, high-income homeowners with mortgages would pay a lot more in taxes.

3) The Expansion of HARP

In October, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said seriously underwater homeowners will be able to refinance through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). Originally, refinancing under HARP required a loan-to-value of less than 125% — that is, you couldn’t be more than 25% underwater – but that rule goes away for fixed-rate mortgages. But there’s a catch! Loans must be guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and – more importantly – borrowers must be current on their payments and must not have missed a payment in the last 6 months.

What Really Mattered: Some seriously underwater borrowers who fell behind on their payments in hopes of negotiating a loan modification are now kicking themselves because those missed payments make them ineligible to refinance. But those who can and do refinance will have lower monthly payments and extra money to spend — which will help stimulate the economy.

4) Natural Disasters Cause Insurance Disaster?

In 2011, several tornados, floodings and a hurricane temporarily halted what little construction there was to begin with, but this was just a short-term slowdown. The bigger long-term effect was the near-collapse of the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Still struggling financially under debt amassed after Hurricane Katrina, the NFIP’s insurance premiums don’t fully cover insurance claims when disaster strikes. August’s Hurricane Irene and its flood damage returned this problem to center-stage.

What Really Mattered: In flood-prone areas, you can’t get a mortgage if you don’t have flood insurance. Without NFIP, housing markets in these areas would skid to a stop. Could the program actually expire? It could, but as part of last week’s payroll tax agreement, the program got a last-minute extension until May 2012. No doubt, the political fight over this program’s long-term future will continue in into next year.

5) Lowering the Conforming Loan Limit

Starting in October, the government lowered the upper limit for loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) from $729,750 to $625,500. Why? Government agencies now back or insure most loans, but it’s time to make the housing market less dependent on the feds. Lowering loan limits is one step in that direction; however, the real estate industry has urged the government to push the loan limits back up. And you know what? They scored a half-win in November, raising the loan limit back up for FHA loans but not for Fannie and Freddie.

What Really Mattered: Mortgage lenders are willing to charge lower rates for loans that are backed by Fannie or Freddie; with a lower conforming loan limit, a small number of loans that used to qualify for federal backing no longer do. As a result, homes that are now on the wrong side of the conforming loan limit will see fewer potential buyers and lower sales prices. This will matter more in California, New York, and other high-cost areas.

Trulia’s List of Anxious Athletes Looking To Sell

2011 will forever go down in professional athlete history as the year of strikes. No, not strikes as in baseball strikes. Strikes as in long, drawn out labor disputes with both the NFL and NBA, which left poor sports fans in a state of limbo for a combined total of 273 days! Thankfully handshakes were made and now all is right in the sports world with both the NFL and NBA back on track with their regular seasons.

But all is not well where sports and real estate are concerned. A number of athletes with homes lingering on the market have yet to shake hands and make deals with potential buyers. Adding to our list of real estate hall of shame, we’ve put together a list of NBA and NFL stars who didn’t sell in 2011.

Scottie Pippen – Retired NBA player most remembered for his time with the Chicago Bulls. (above)

Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL

Price: $13.5 Million

Bedrooms: 6

Bathrooms: 8

See more property details for Scottie Pippen’s home.

See more homes for sale in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Nick Van Exel –NBA star who brought his skills to multiple teams over a 13 year career. (above)

Location: Houston, TX

Price: $3.9 Million

Bedrooms: 5

Bathrooms: 10

Size: 16,801 square feet

See more photos of Nick Van Exel’s home.

See more homes for sale in Houston, TX.

Alonzo Mourning –NBA baller with a long career with the Miami Heat. (above)

Location: Coral Gables, FL

Price: $14.5 Million

Bedrooms: 8

Bathrooms: 8 full, 1 partial

Size: 13,806 square feet

See more photos of Alonzo Mourning’s home.

See more homes for sale in Coral Gables, FL.

Jermaine O’Neal – Entered the NBA right out of high school and went on to be a 6-time All-Star. (above)

Location: Henderson, NV

Price: $3,550,000

Bedrooms: 6

Bathrooms: 7

Lot: 30,927 square feet

See more photos of Jermaine O’Neal’s home.

See more homes for sale in Henderson, NV.

Amar’e Stoudamire – 6’10 NBA baller who plays power forward and center for the New York Knicks. (above)

Location: Phoenix, AZ.

Price: $925,000

Bedrooms: 2

Bathrooms: 2 full, 1 partial

Size: 3,000 square feet

See more photos of Amar’e Stoudamire’s home.

See more homes for sale in Phoenix, AZ.

Rashard Lewis – Former Seattle SuperSonic and Orlando Magic forward, who is now with the Washington Wizards. (above)

Location: Winter Park, FL

Price: $3,950,000

Bedrooms: 5

Bathrooms: 7

Size: 8,973 square feet

See more photos of  Rashard Lewis’ home.

See more homes for sale in Winter Park, FL.

Troy Aikman –Former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. (above)

Location: Dallas, TX

Price: $24 Million

Bedrooms: 5

Bathrooms: 7

Size: 10,520 square feet

See more photos of  Troy Aikman‘s home.

See more homes for sale in Dallas, TX.

Walter Jones –One of the best players to ever wear a Seattle Seahawks uniform. (above)

Location: Harvest, AL

Price: $3.5 Million

Bedrooms: 8

Bathrooms: 9 full, 3 partial

Lot: 624,650 square feet

See more photos of  Walter Jones’ home.

See more homes for sale in Harvest, AL.

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Living Large: Trulia’s Most Massive Estates for 2011

Have Americans completely renounced their love for McMansions? Well, if you were to do a national consumer survey (which we did), only 6% of Americans would actually say that their ideal home size is bigger than 3,200 sqft. Given this, you would expect smaller homes to be more popular than bigger homes on Trulia.com – surprisingly, this wasn’t the case. Super-sized homes actually got 27% of all the eyeballs looking for homes on Trulia (more than any other sized home). Say what?!? That’s right – U.S. house hunters still love to look at ginormous real estate eye-candy.

Knowing this, we decided to close out the year with a little belated holiday gift. Below we’ve compiled a list of the most colossal estates for sale based on square footage. For most of you, this will be eye candy, but for the head honcho buyers among you, here are few homes to consider if you want to live large in 2012. *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*

1. 30,000 square feet – Beverly Hills, CA. (above)

Price: $63 Million

Bedrooms: 10

Bathrooms: 13 full, 9 partial

Lot: 19.75 acres

Lavish layout includes: 9 fireplaces, an elevator,  a motor court to fit 27 cars, game room, wine cellar and separate staff quarters offering 3 bedrooms and full kitchen, etc.

See more pictures of this massive estate.

See more homes for sale in Beverly Hills, CA.

2. 30,000 square feet – Alpine, NJ. (above)

Price: $56 Million

Bedrooms: 12

Bathrooms: 15 full, 4 partial

Lot: 261,360 square feet

Lavish layout includes: smart phone capabilities enabling remote operating from an iPhone, in-home fitness center, pool house with full kitchen and two baths, 65 foot pool and tennis court, 6 garages, indoor basketball court, etc.

See more pictures of this massive estate.

See more homes for sale in Alpine, NJ.

3. 30,000 square feet – Indian Creek Village, FL. (above)

Price: $60 Million

Bedrooms: 10

Bathrooms: 10 full, 4 partial

Lot: 1.84 acres

Lavish layout includes: ocean access, certified green house, rooftop lawn and Jacuzzi, panic room, chromo therapy spa and massage room, elevator, etc.

See more photos of this massive estate.

See more homes for sale in Indian Creek, FL.

4. 30,000 square feet – Barrington, IL. (above)

Price: $8.9 Million

Bedrooms: 8

Bathrooms: 8 full, 4 partial

Lot: 70 acres

Lavish layout includes: fish stocked lake, pond with waterfall, 2 golf holes, full size gym, arcade, English pub, etc.

See more photos of this massive estate.

See more homes for sale in Barrington, IL.

5. 28,893 square feet – Tampa, FL. (above)

Price: $14.9 Million

Bedrooms: 10

Bathrooms: 10 full, 3 partial

Lot: 5.9 acres

Lavish layout includes: 17^th century British royal palace architecture and design, formal ballroom, 14 fireplaces, elevator, wine cellar, private basketball court, etc.

See more photos of this massive estate.

See more homes for sale in Tampa, FL.

6. 28,469 square feet – Post Falls, ID. (above)

Price: $15,995,000

Bedrooms: 13

Bathrooms: 13

Lot: 2 acres

Lavish layout includes: river views, guest house, cabana, inground pool, etc.

See more photos of this massive estate.

See more homes for sale in Post Falls, ID.

7. 27,816 square feet – Los Angeles, CA (above)

Price: $27.5 Million

Bedrooms: 6

Bathrooms: 7

Lot: 1.15 acres

Lavish layout includes: multiple fireplaces, indoor and outdoor pools and gym, massage room, game room, etc.

See more photos of this massive estate.

See more homes for sale in Los Angeles, CA.

8. 27,355 sqft – Palm Beach, FL (above)

Price: $74 Million

Bedrooms: 9

Bathrooms: 17

Lot: 2.5 acres

Lavish layout includes: waterfront location, sculptured gardens and fountains, guest house, French inspired design and décor, etc.

See more photos of this massive estate.

See more homes for sale in Palm Beach, FL.

9. 27,163 square feet – Beverly Hills, CA (above)

Price: $55 Million

Bedrooms: 8

Bathrooms: 12 full, 1 partial

Lot: 2.11 acres

Lavish layout includes: 400 foot long winding cobblestone driveway, motor court accommodating 25 cars, etc.

See more photos of this massive estate.

See more homes for sale in Beverly Hills, CA.

10. 26,415 square feet – Greenwich, CT

Price: $25 Million

Bedrooms: 8

Bathrooms: 10 full, 8 partial

Lot: 8.79 acres

Lavish layout includes: 42-foot indoor pool, indoor basketball court, dog washing facility, steam showers, playroom, home theater, wine cellar, etc.

Trulia’s Top House Hunter Cities of 2011

Trulia’s Real Estate Crystal Ball for 2012

As we wrap up 2011, Trulia’s Chief Economist looks ahead at what’s in store for the battered housing market and which cities have a big reason to celebrate the New Year.

My crystal ball is never as crystal-clear as I’d like, but I do think that we can expect a gradual economic recovery to move the housing market a few steps back toward normal in 2012. Even so, we still have a long ways to go. As we exit 2011, prices still not have rebounded after their huge declines, inventories are still well above normal, and the foreclosure rate is still far higher than before the bubble. Even the best possible 2012 won’t get us halfway back toward normal.

Before getting into the predictions, let me be upfront about what I’m assuming. After 14 months of job gains, I expect the economy to continue its slow but determined recovery. I don’t do my own macroeconomic forecasts, but every single one of the fifty-ish economic forecasters surveyed by the Wall Street Journal expects the economy to grow throughout 2012, and that makes sense to me. Of course, any unexpected severe political or financial crisis could tip us back into recession, and then all bets are off. Here’s to hoping that doesn’t happen.

My five predictions for housing in 2012:

1)  Delinquencies will go down, but foreclosures will go up. Fewer borrowers will fall behind on their payments next year, thanks to the strengthening economy and refinancings. The share of delinquent borrowers is already down more than a quarter from the peak a couple of years ago. But many borrowers who fell behind on their payments during the housing crisis are still in limbo: last year’s robo-signing controversy threw a wrench in the gears of the foreclosure process. That means that some delinquent loans haven’t yet entered the foreclosure process, and even fewer moved all the way through foreclosure — especially in Florida and other states where foreclosures require a longer legal process. Once a settlement is reached with banks over robo-signing in those states, we’ll see a new wave of foreclosures and foreclosure sales that’s long overdue. It’s a necessary step in getting the housing market back to normal even though it will be painful for people who lose their homes — and will rattle American’s confidence in the housing recovery.

2)  Rents will rise – which is a bad thing. With fewer people buying homes and more people losing their homes to foreclosures, the rental market is only going to get tighter especially in older, dense cities like New York, Washington DC and San Francisco. High rents will hold back economic growth if businesses can’t pay workers enough to have a roof over their heads. Squeezed city-dwellers won’t get relief until late 2012: that’s when a wave of new multi-unit construction projects that started late this year will be completed and available for rent. To tackle growth-killing high living costs in the priciest cities head on, local governments need to get rid of height restrictions and arduous permitting processes, which hold back urban construction and push development to the suburbs.

3)  Mortgage rates will inch up – which will probably be a good thing. A stronger economy will push Treasury bonds and mortgage rates up because inflation becomes more likely and investors demand higher rates to hold bonds. The Fed’s “Operation Twist” will prevent rates from rising too much, but other forces could push rates up higher or, alternatively, send them falling. If investors think the U.S. government will have trouble paying its debt – which they might if the government can’t agree to raise the debt ceiling or narrow the deficit — they’ll demand higher rates because of that risk; but global economic uncertainty – even here at home — could lower American interest rates if investors think American bonds are safe relative to other investments. Got whiplash yet? You’re forgiven. Lots of factors can push rates up or down. For the housing market, which direction rates go is less important than why. Gradual economic recovery is good news for the housing market even if it means higher mortgage rates – that’s what I think will win out next year. We’ll have higher rates for a reason we can cheer.

4)  Government will sit on its hands. In election years, politicians don’t take risks: they’re more talk and less action, so don’t expect any bold housing policy reforms next year. What’s more, with the housing market now recovering, we’re not in enough of a crisis to force political opponents together. The time has passed for bold government action on housing. We’ll look back wistfully on the modest policy wins of 2011: borrowers who’ve kept up their payments can now refinance under the expanded HARP program, and the government is planning ways to sell or rent out vacant homes it owns (which will probably be announced in early 2012). But these targeted policies won’t move the needle on national foreclosures, sales or prices.

5)  Smart cities are hot. In 2012, the local housing markets that will enjoy rising prices, new construction or both, are those that start the year with stronger job growth and fewer empty homes holding back the market. Based on these factors, along with other leading indicators, here are my top five cities to watch:

—Austin, TX, and Houston, TX. The bloom’s not off the yellow rose of Texas. Steady job growth and a construction revival make Austin and Houston two of my five cities to watch. Texas isn’t hung over from the housing boom like the other big states of the South and West, so there’s little to hold back growth. Honorable mention to Fort Worth and San Antonio.

—San Jose, CA. Wasn’t California at the center of the foreclosure crisis? Didn’t prices there fall more than everywhere else in the country? Yup. But there’s no such thing as the California housing market: California is almost as diverse as the U.S. Even though prices plummeted and foreclosures skyrocketed in inland California, the coast is another world. San Jose’s perennially tight housing market makes it faster to bounce back. The San Jose market –which includes most of Silicon Valley – has rapid job growth and the lowest vacancy rate in the country.

—Suburbs of Boston, MA. This Cambridge-Newton-Framingham market just west of Boston has a strong jobs engine and, like most of New England, missed the worst of the housing bubble. Honorable mention goes to Worcester, one step further west, and Boston’s northern suburbs around Peabody. These areas all benefit from offering more bang for the buck than crowded, expensive Boston: this is because most people looking to move are searching in more suburban or smaller areas than where they live now.

—Rochester, NY. That’s my hometown, and knowing what’s happened to Kodak and other pillars of the local economy, I was surprised when Rochester scored on the top 5 list. (I applied the same formula to all cities and did not have my thumb on the scale.) Prices – which fell little during the boom – are stable, and the economy has weathered blow after blow and is expanding.

What do these markets have in common? Three – Austin, San Jose, and the area west of Boston – are technology centers. In those three metros, as well as in Rochester, a center of high-skill manufacturing industries, education levels are well above the national average. As the recovery proceeds, smart cities are leading the way. During the housing boom, the go-go cities tended to be lower-skill, lower-education metros. But in 2012, smart is hot: it’ll be the revenge of the nerds.

Links to Trulia Insights blog posts:

Jobs Report Bodes Well for Housing

Asking What Our Country Can Do For Housing

Where Construction Activity is Rumbling

The Federal Government’s Re-Fi Plan: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Renting Out Government-Owned Homes is the Right Move – But Probably Wouldn’t Make Any Difference to You

Where Vacancies are High

Trulia Launches First-Of-Its-Kind iPhone App for Real Estate Agents

Today we’re very excited to announce the newest addition to Trulia’s lineup of mobile applications, the Trulia for Agents iPhone app.  Trulia for Agents is the first national mobile application designed specifically for the residential Real Estate Industry.  The free app integrates mobile, social and location-based technologies to help agents meet new clients, showcase their local expertise and access their business from anywhere.

The Trulia for Agents app lets agents broadcast their local expertise with listing check ins.  Agents can check in to the listings they tour and display check ins on their Trulia.com profile so that prospective clients can contact them for more details and get the first-hand inside scoop on properties.  The agents who check in to the most listings will rise to the top of their local leaderboard.

Trulia for Agents also pushes immediate lead notifications to the iPhone, helping agents respond quickly to consumer inquiries.  Agents can also access all of their leads, store their client list and add new contacts while hosting an open house.

Also included in the app is a quick property lookup that lets agents find nearby listings and instantly share homes that fit clients’ needs.  They can also share other neighborhood details including open home times, driving directions, nearby restaurants, grocery stores and more.

Real estate agents with iPhones can download the Trulia for Agents app in for free the iTunes store beginning today.

Trulia’s 2011 List of Stars Stuck In a Housing Struggle

For celebrities, you’d think real estate would be nothing but a breeze. From decorating and designing their massive estates to renovating and expanding their compounds, it’s hard to envision difficult times for celebs and their real estate.

Although it may not be the first thing that comes to mind, stars stuck in real estate struggles definitely do exist. A handful have suffered what millions of American’s are battling across the U.S.: foreclosure.  In recent years, celebs such as Toni Braxton, Nicolas Cage, Latoya Jackson and most recently Chris Tucker, have all gone through a foreclosure crisis and have lost millions.

For some rich and famous looking to either escape a foreclosure crisis, seek a change of scenery, or just rotate their property lineup, selling a million dollar home in this economy has proved to be quite the challenge. We have identified a list of 10 stars whose homes have been desperate for a new owner- some for over a year or more. Anyone interested in rescuing these infamous estates? See below for a real estate round up of celebs who just couldn’t sell in 2011.

1. Hulk Hogan | First Hit the Market: 5 years and 6 months ago – June 2006  (below)

Current Price: $8,871,527

Located: Belleair, FL

Bedrooms: 5

Bathrooms: 8 full, 3 partial

Size: 17,145 sq ft

See more images and property details for this home!

See more homes for sale in Belleair, FL

2. Ryan Stiles | First Hit the Market: 1 year and 8 months ago – April 2010 (below)

Current Price: $3,499,000

Located: Encino, CA

Bedrooms: 5

Bathrooms: 6 full, 1 partial

Size: 7,361 sq ft

See more images and property details for this home!

See more homes for sale in Encino, CA

3. Anjelica Huston | First Hit the Market: 1 year and 3 months ago – October 2010 (below)

Current Price: $14M

Located: Venice, CA

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 3 full, 1 partial

Size: 13,796 sq ft

See more images and property details for this home!

See more homes for sale in Venice, CA

4. Jesse Metcalfe | First Hit the Market: 11 months ago – Early February 2011 (below)

Current Price: $2.2M

Located: Beverly Hills, CA

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 3 full, 1 partial

Size: 2,000 sq ft

See more images and property details for this home!

See more homes for sale in Beverly Hills, CA

5. Christina Aguilera | First Hit the Market: 10 months ago – Early March 2011 (below)

Current Price: $13.5M

Located: Beverly Hills, CA

Bedrooms: 6

Bathrooms: 9

Size: 10,000 sq ft

See more images and property details for this home!

See more homes for sale in Beverly Hills, CA

6. Dennis Quaid | First Hit the Market: 10 months ago – March 2011 (below)

Current Price: $10M

Located: Pacific Palisades, CA

Bedrooms: 8

Bathrooms: 9 full, 1 partial

Size: 8,400 sq ft

See more images and property details for this home!

See more homes for sale in Pacific Palisades, CA

7. Mary J. Blige | First Hit the Market: 10 months ago – March 2011 (below)

Current Price: $12,500,000

Located: Saddle River, NJ

Bedrooms: 8

Bathrooms: 8 full, 3 partial

Size: 18,250 sq ft

See more images and property details for this home!

See more homes for sale in Saddle River, NJ

8. Kelsey and Camille Grammer | First Hit the Market: 10 months ago – March 2011 (below)

Current Price: $7.3M

Located: Avon, CO

Bedrooms: 6

Bathrooms: 7 full, 1 partial

Size: 8,500 sq ft

See more images and property details for this home!

See more homes for sale in Avon, CO

9. Whoopi Goldberg | First Hit the Market: 9 months ago – April 2011 (below)

Current Price: $1.9M

Located: Marlboro, VT

Bedrooms: 6

Bathrooms: 4 full, 2 partial

Size: 6,100 sq ft

See more images and property details for this home!

See more homes for sale in Marlboro, VT

10. Leona Lewis | First Hit the Market: 7 months ago – Early June 2011 (below)

Current Price: $2.5M

Located: Los Angeles, CA

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 4 full, 1 partial

Size: 3,946 sq ft

See more images and property details for this home!

See more homes for sale in Los Angeles, CA

Trulia’s Top 10 Cities and Homes for Extreme Bargain Shoppers

If you’ve been watching TLC’s “Extreme Couponing,” then you know that it is very possible to buy a thousand dollars worth of groceries and household supplies for mere pennies with coupons. In the most extreme of cases, the store could be handing the buyer cash on their way out! It’s crazy to watch these men and women go home with carts and carts full of merchandise for such great deals…almost makes you wish you could use coupons when you buy real estate.

Well, guess what – in some cities, sellers have cut their list price so much that you’re practically getting a discount on top of a discount. For example, you can get a 40% discount on a $50K house in Detroit, MI, lower the cost to a bargain bin price of $30K.

In the spirit of holiday shopping and bargaining, we’ve  identified 10 U.S. cities in 2011 that are home to the biggest price slashers based on the average discounts (as a percentage) made on non-foreclosure homes listed for sale on Trulia. From there, we’ve pulled the homes with the biggest markdowns in that market.  So pay attention, bargain shoppers!

1) Detroit, MI (below)

• Average Market Discount:  23%
• # of properties on the market (as of 12/19):  7,782
• Median Sales Price: $69,000

Click here to see more images and property details for this home!

2) Cleveland, OH (below)

• Average  Market  Discount:  14%
• # of properties on the market (as of 12/19):   5,340
• Median Sales Price: $57,000

Click here to see more images and property details for this home!

3) Baltimore, MD (below)

• Average  Market  Discount:  11%
• # of properties on the market (as of 12/19):   5,094
• Median Sales Price: $115,000

Click here to see more images and property details for this home!

4) Miami, FL (below)

• Average  Market  Discount:  11%
• # of properties on the market (as of 12/19): 21,937
• Median Sales Price: $146,000

Click here to see more images and property details for this home!

5) Memphis, TN (below)

• Average  Market  Discount:  10%
• # of properties on the market (as of 12/19): 4,270
• Median Sales Price: $82,000

Click here to see more images and property details for this home!

6) Milwaukee, WI (below)

• Average  Market  Discount:  10%
• # of properties on the market (as of 12/19): 1,244
• Median Sales Price: $93,000

Click here to see more images and property details for this home!

7) Atlanta, GA (below)

• Average  Market  Discount:  10%
• # of properties on the market (as of 12/19): 8,874
• Median Sales Price: $173,000

Click here to see more images and property details for this home!

8 )  New Orleans, LA (below)

• Average  Market  Discount:  10%
• # of properties on the market (as of 12/19): 2,611
• Median Sales Price: $140,000

Click here to see more images and property details for this home!

9) Chicago, IL (below)

• Average  Market  Discount:  9%
• # of properties on the market (as of 12/19): 27,308
• Median Sales Price: $202,000

Click here to see more images and property details for this home!

10) Jacksonville, FL (below)

• Average  Market  Discount:  9%
• # of properties on the market (as of 12/19): 12,547
• Median Sales Price: $100,000

Click here to see more images and property details for this home!

The Best of our Blogs (Dec 12 – Dec 16 2011)