Americans have always had a love affair with the macabre. Maybe it's a fascination with the grotesque. Or perhaps its simply that heinous events cast a spell over our natural curiosity. Or just maybe people are intrigued with all things celebrity, and just can't get enough of it.
Through websites like HouseFront.com, a Denver-based real estate search and valuation firm, consumers can obtain free property information on any one of more than 100 million houses by simply text messaging the home's address, city and state to 46873, which spells "house." The same data -- number of bedrooms and baths, for example, and an estimated value -- is available by visiting the website directly.
If you think this is silliness personified, think again. So many people want to look behind the curtains, so to speak, of the homes of the rich and famous that HouseFront is able to compile a monthly list of the ten most searched homes in America. In August, the homes of Michael Vick, Paris Hilton, David Hasselhoff and Drew Barrymore made the list.
Here's HouseFront's Top 10 Most Searched Homes for the month of August. Enjoy!:
Michael Vick: Reportedly purchased in 2001, Vick was listed as the owner of the home where illegal dog fighting took place.
Drew Barrymore: "The majority of our top 10 list of homes searched is from celebrities or politicians who've recently been in the news," said Stephen Joos, marketing director for HouseFront. "Quite frankly, we're puzzled why consumers searched some homes of stars such as Drew Barrymore's more than others."
Dick Cheney: HouseFront values the Vice President's waterfront property on nine Eastern Shore, Md. acres at approximately $2 million.
Paris Hilton: In the news for being in the news, Hilton's Spanish style abode has been on the market -- and there's been no shortage of voyeurs taking online tours of the home.
David Hasslehoff: He used to co-star with a car that talked, now his house has something to say: his 5,700 sq ft Sherman Oaks, Calif., home bites back, too.
Hugh Hefner: Making the list for the obvious reason -- it's the Playboy Mansion, after all -- this home recently was in the headlines. Authorities dropped an investigation into a reported sexual assault at the mansion due to insufficient evidence.
Jennifer Aniston: Reportedly owned by Aniston, the home is valued at $10.2 million.
Bill Gates: This massive 48,000-square-foot mansion overlooks Lake Washington on a 5-acre lot in the Seattle area. The house features an underwater music system, sand from a tropical island, and a tracking system that follows user movement and adjusts heating and cooling preferences accordingly.
Tom Cruise: This 7,600-square-foot, $11 million estate was reportedly part of the Cruise/Nicole Kidman divorce settlement.
Paris Hilton: Hilton appears for the second time on HouseFront's list with the possible purchase of this property that reportedly includes 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms and sits on three-quarters of an acre.
Through HouseFront.com, consumers also can view maps and aerial photos of homes, get information on the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and other details, including the home's sales history. In addition, users can view information on other homes by selecting HouseFront''s "Compare Similar Homes" feature.
What's more, the "My Searches" feature lets consumers view details of the homes that have been queried previously, while "Compare Checked Homes" provides detailed, side-by-side comparisons.
Fascinating! Utterly fascinating!
Published: October 24, 2007
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 When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated.
He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year.
Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association.
He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He
held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972.
The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country.
He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others.
Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven. |
