Joshua Barre Broker/Owner Westside Properties

After living in Las Vegas in recent months, the King of Pop has returned to Southern California wanting to be closer to "where all the action is" in the entertainment industry. Michael Jackson has leased himself a huge mansion in one of the most exclusive areas of Los Angeles, Bel Air Holmby Hills for $100,000 a month.

The $38 million Bel Air home is a French chateau estate built in 2002, one of the most expensive houses listed for sale last year in Los Angeles but was withdrawn from the market after Michael signed a year lease. It has seven bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, 12 fireplaces and a theater. There is a multistory grand entry, hardwood floors, a formal dining room, wood-paneled den and adjoining library with coffered ceilings. The state-of-the-art kitchen has an adjacent butler's pantry. The home also has a guest house, a wine cellar and tasting room.

In 2006, authorities ordered Neverland be closed up and fined Jackson for failing to pay his employees or maintain adequate insurance.Earlier this year, the singer almost saw the property go into foreclosure, before an investment company bought the $24 million (£16 million) loan on the ranch.Last month the deeds were transferred to a firm called Colony Capital, in which Jackson retains a stake. Santa Barbara County Assessor's office said the deal was worth $35million (£24million).

Searching for your dream home? Email or call me at 310-459-8191 or visit my website www.WestsideHomeFinder.com.

Here's a peek into the King of Pop Home-to-be

Nationwide in November, the number of existing homes "pending sale" dropped to a 7 year low. The National Association of Realtors Pending Sales Index dropped 4.0% to the lowest level since its inception in 2001. The deepening recession has brought about massive job losses and a record decline in consumer confidence. The silver lining is that housing is becoming affordable once again for many who have been priced out of the entire Westside of Los Angeles real estate market since 2003.

Economists believe president-elect Obama's proposed massive spending plan, together with steps by the Treasury and Federal Reserve to lower mortgage rates will help bolster the housing sector later this year. The Housing Affordability Index, which looks at the relationship between home prices to interest rates and family income, was on track to match a record high 1972. This is amazing news for anyone in a position to buy property in 2009. Good times are here! Invest in your future. Email or call me at 310-459-8191 or visit my website www.WestsideHomeFinder.com

1)I am grateful for all of the amazing people I have in my life and for all of the love, friendship, guidance and support they give to me.

2)I am grateful for one simple fact of life: It is never too late to make a change. Every moment is another opportunity for change.

3)I am grateful for the roof over my shoulders, and vehicle to transport me from one place to the next

4) I am grateful for finding and being able to wear my Yellow Lance Armstrong "Livestrong" bracelet. I will wear it today and think of my dear, late grandma Betty.

5)I am grateful for the millions of choices I am confronted with each and every day. And for the freedom to choose for myself.

6)I am grateful for hearing the voice of a loved one today, and knowing I am loved.

7)I am grateful for the exciting journey that lies ahead.

8)I am grateful for the guy on the street corner selling flowers for $5. They make being a romantic and thoughtful boyfriend much easier.

9)I am grateful for the feeling of a hot shower when it's cold outside.

10)I am grateful for being able to be grateful It isn't easy to do. But I recommend trying it. Tonight or tomorrow, instead of only writing your NYE Resolutions, also jott down a list of things that you are grateful for. Continue to add things to your list and re-visit this exercise often, and you will be a much more grateful person! ;)

Happy Grateful New Years Eve Everyone!

Be Great and be Grateful.

Respectively,

Joshua L. Barre

A delightful display of planets and the moon will occur on New Year's Eve for anyone wishing to step outside and look up just after sunset.

Venus, brighter than all other planets and stars, will dangle just below the thin crescent moon in the southwestern sky. It'll be visible -- impossible to miss, in fact -- just as the sun goes down, assuming skies are cloud-free.

Jupiter and Mercury will set less than an hour after the sun, so timing your viewing just after sunset is crucial. You'll also need a location with a clear view of the western horizon, unobstructed by buildings, trees or mountains.

All the planets, along with the moon and sun, traverse an arc across our sky called the ecliptic, which corresponds to the plane in space that they all roughly share. For this reason, you could draw an imaginary line from the general location of Venus and the moon, down through the other two planets, and the line would point to where the sun went down. This line could also initially help you find Jupiter and Mercury.

If weather permitting, you can get a preview of the sky show on Tuesday, Dec. 30. On this evening, the planets will be in nearly the same place they'll be on Dec. 31, but the moon will be midway between Venus and the Mercury-Jupiter pairing.

Venus is so bright you can see it during daylight if you know where to look. Given Venus' proximity to the moon on New Year's Eve, this would be an excellent moment -- just before sunset -- to use the moon to help you find Venus and gain bragging rights for being one of the few people to be able to claim seeing more than one planet during the daytime (Earth being the other one).

2008 was the year that subprime borrowers and speculators got hurt by the real estate crisis. 2009 could be when everyone else gets hit. Here's why.

Going into 2009, with the deepening recession and mounting job losses, serious housing troubles could infect wealthier communities and markets that were just beginning to stabilize this summer before the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers on September 15 sparked the most serious financial turmoil in decades. Housing prices are expected to fall 12.5% nationwide next year. On December 23, Credit Suisse forecast that more than 8 million homes will go into foreclosure over the next four years or approximately 16% of all US households with mortgages. Housing and mortgage problems pushed the nation into a recession that could amplify and expand the reach of housing declines in areas that are concentrated with high earning residents and high demand.

For instance, Manhattan condo and co-op prices soared years after housing bubbles in most other major cities popped. NYC's real estate market was bolstered by residents who were still earning sky-high Wall Street Bonuses and by a weak dollar that attracted overseas bargain investors. With stronger USD over the past few months and financial market crisis that drive thousands of Wall Street big players out of job, Manhattan apartment prices have dropped as much as 20% since the summer.

Unemployment and Real Estates:

Problems in manufacturing cities have less to do with risky mortgages but mainly caused by job losses. Gary and Detroit have already showed sign of a steep decline in housing market due to recent massive lay off. Alabama, Arkansas, Atlanta, Michigan and Ohio could soon experience the same problem. The impact of job losses could be serious in Charlotte, NC, a major banking center that had been one of the nation's strongest real estate markets, when Bank of America starts laying off up to 35,000 employees over the next few years.

The economy is in a downward spiral with job losses that is weakening the consumer markets. As the recent consumer spending report shown retailers slashed prices up to 70% to 80% off to clear year end inventories. Government involvement is needed to stabilize housing market by injecting liquidity in banks, lowering interest rates, tax stimulus packages. So far, we only see a sharp increase in mortgage refinance but only a moderate increase in mortgage application. This downward cycle will only end when the prices fall far enough that make it affordable to large number of buyers.

However, housing market around Washington, DC which suffered greatly in the wake of the housing bust is beginning to recover. It is because the nation's capital has so many recession-proof government and defense contracting jobs. Other areas such as Boston, San Diego, and Orange County are getting close to affordability levels and could begin to level off.