Although he proved he could turn a 1936 energy vortex into a green paradise, new challenge await at his new location near the Los Angeles River. First Begley is going to take down the existing home, and then start from scratch to achieve a "net zero", LEED-platinum dwelling. more ›

Dwell on Design, the annual event focused on green, conscious, and innovative design, decor, and lifestyle, returns to the Convention Center this weekend. A multi-dimensional event, from home tours to panels and demos, to a full exhibit space with opportunities to investigate and interact, it definitely takes some planning and a do-it-yourself approach to making sure you get the most out of your time there. more ›

If you're stuffing your piggy bank in hopes of someday being able to buy a home in Los Angeles, better hope you're stuffing rather vigorously. Homes in Los Angeles are considered "severely unaffordable," according to an annual report issued by Demographia which examines home prices versus incomes in global metropolitan markets. more ›

While it's generally true that "there's no place like home," there's a problem when it's not your home anymore. A 16-year-old boy got so intoxicated the other night that he stumbled into the Simi Valley home of Debbie Nate, stripped off his pants and shoes, and crawled into bed, according to abc7. more ›

An issue raised years ago has resurfaced once again as neighbors of Councilmember Richard Alarcón say they haven't seen him around in recent months. Such accusations have led to an investigation by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, according to the LA Times. Two search warrants were served earlier this week to homes owned by Alarcon's wife--one within his Council District 7 and another in Council District 2. Both homes are in the Northeast San Fernando Valley. more ›

The realtor listing the late photographer Julius Shulman's new-to-the-market house at 7875 Woodrow Wilson Drive has assembled a beautiful virtual tour of the property, complete with facts about the house and reflections from Shulman himself, the home's sole owner since it was built for him in 1950 (and cheesy music; toggle audio off on the bottom right!). more ›

A fire that began around 6:30 a.m. this morning reportedly destroyed a home in the Hollywood Hills. Arson units are currently on scene after the blaze was attacked by firefighters predominately on the attic and first levels of the four-level home at 2047 North Sunset Plaza Drive, according to an LAFD spokesperson on the phone. The owner was on scene and no injuries were reported. Firefighters called a knockdown at 7:10 a.m., stopping the fire from spreading to other homes or hillside brush. more ›

Dwell on Design officially started today with design, architecture and other industry folks visiting the convention center today. Come tomorrow and Sunday the public will be attending the large event full of booths, speaking events (read LAist's picks here) and a great mobile food event tomorrow evening at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. more ›

This house is so big, it has its own website. Too bad they claim it's in Beverly Hills when in reality, it's in Los Angeles's 5th District... but we digress with zip code minutia. This more-than-9,000-square-foot home has nine bedrooms, ten bathrooms, a six car garage, four bars and six fire places. more ›

Residents of Malibu are up in arms about U2 guitarist The Edge (nee David Evans) and his plans "to build five luxury homes in [the] hills" they believe "would devastate the area," according to On the Red Carpet. more ›

Thinking about kicking off 2009 by buying a home? It seems prices are falling month after month, but you may be interested to know where the biggest price drops are happening around Los Angeles. Real Estate website Redfin put together their monthly index of rate-drops and compiled some charts representing area cities and towns as well as L.A. neighborhoods to help potential buyers, or the just plain curious, see where things are getting cheaper. They explain that the charts "show the percent of MLS, FSBO or REO listings that were price-reduced at some point before leaving the market (either sold or removed unsold from the market) in the past 90 days," excluding areas too small to provide helpful data. (A full ranking of areas is available to download from their site, too.) more ›

Neverland Ranch is now someone else's problem. Michael Jackson gave the Santa Barbara County pad earlier this year and has moved into the Playboy Mansion neighborhood of Holmby Hills. He didn't buy a new home, though, he's renting... for the reasonable price of $100,000 a month. The $38 million home has seven bedrooms, 13 baths, 12 fireplaces, a screening room a wine cellar, garden, swimming pool and guest house, finds TMZ. more ›

Late yesterday afternoon, a home in Venice that firefighters noted as under construction lit on fire. 30 firefighters arrived knocking down the blaze in a quick 23 minutes at 1134 E. Palms Blvd. Photographer Anthony Citrano, who took these photos below, said that two structures were involved with one apparently destroyed and one damaged. more ›

A mortgage broker contacted police on Monday about a North Hollywood house that was about to revert back to the bank at midnight. That broker's hunch that something was amiss was right: officers found the body of an unidentifiable person in age and gender, possibly mummified over the last year, according to the Daily News. Now identified as an elderly woman and suspected to be Barbara Hunt, who would be 86 years old, police are seeking the cause of death. The woman's son, Robert Hunt, lived with her and was there when police discovered the body, but he was not arrested. Rather, the case was forwarded to elderly abuse investigators. Trash on the property had not been thrown out for 30 years. more ›

Versatile singer/songwriter Gavin Castleton, hailed Rhode Island's "hardest working composer/singer/writer/producer" by Filter Magazine, is releasing a Halloween single called "Unparallel Rabbits" on iTunes tomorrow in support of his upcoming zombies & heartbreak-themed album Home, on Five One Inc. The b-side to the single, entitled "Since 1968", is a track by Castleton's previous project Gruvis Malt (Warner subsidiary Lakeshore Records), remixed by New York electronic group The Overclock Orchestra, as well as Grammy-winner Rob Pemberton, both of whom contributed to the production on Home. more ›

TMZ is reporting that actor Nick Nolte's Malibu home suffered $1 million in structural damage and a half million in content damage after a fire reported at 11:34 a.m. this morning. From TMZ: "When firefighters arrived, the Malibu house was burning and Nolte was trying to put the blaze out himself. We're told the fire started in a bedroom -- some sort of electrical malfunction. Nolte suffered smoke inhalation and abrasions. He's still at the house and plans to see his Dr. today." more ›

A fire in Silver Lake damaged the inside of craftsmen home next to a church just off Sunset Blvd. early this afternoon. Shortly before 1:40 p.m., an employee at The Living Room, a furniture store across the street from the house, called 911 to report the fire. The fire at 1418 Golden Gate was probably started by a water heater, fire officials said after their preliminary investigation. The first story was well-involved when seven LAFD companies (that's around 40 firefighters) arrived as it extended into the second floor and attic. At 2:08 p.m., the fire was knocked down. more ›

Tomorrow the National Fair Housing Commission will hold a hearing on the foreclosure crisis here in LA. LA Weekly taps into the story wondering what it means for Mayor Villaraigosa. From the press release for the hearing: "Forty years after the enactment of the Fair Housing Act in 1968, significant housing discrimination still exists in Los Angeles and across the country... Los Angeles is among the hardest hit cities in the current foreclosure crisis, and the commission will examine cases of discriminatory and predatory lending, the federal enforcement of fair housing laws, and the state of fair housing in the region." more ›

In addition to providing you with an excellent cardio and lower-body workout, the Hollywoodland Staircases Walk also has amazing views of the city, the landscape, and two major landmarks (the Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory). Throw some local history (concrete staircases joining hilly residential streets installed in 1923 as part of the Hollywoodland real estate development) and a wide variety of architecture and you have more for your eyes to drink in than you bargained for in just a one-hour, 2 mile walk through the charming Beachwood Canyon neighborhood. more ›

When the Parra family bought their home at 9828 Newville Street in Downey, they had no idea they were buying a tourist attraction. more ›