The world renowned Sears Tower in Chicago is going to be renamed Willis Tower with new residents, Willis Group Holdings, a London based insurance broker, moving in late this summer.  The 36 year-old Sears Tower is the tallest building in the U.S. and entire Western Hemisphere sitting at 1,450.58 feet (442 m) high.

Along with moving 500 employees into 140,000 square feet on multiple floors of the 110-story building this summer, the Willis Group gets the naming rights as part of its lease agreement with the real estate investment group that owns Sears Tower.

The change is not sitting well with many Chicagoans with sceptics spawning nicknames like “UK Invasion Tower” and “Watchu Talkin’ Bout Tower”.  Already an online petition, ItstheSearsTower.com, has been established to protest at the building’s renaming.

It appears that even the playboy of playboy’s cant avoid the financial crunch. Playboy owner and founder Hugh Hefner has listed his private residence, not the playboy mansion itself, up for sale. The private residence which is located on the grounds of the playboy mansion is located on S. Mapleton Drive in Los Angeles, Ca.  But don’t count start planning your playmate parties just yet, this 7,318 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms comes with a near $28 million price tag. So if you have the bank ($$$), then you can purchase the house of every mans’ dream.

Hugh Hefner and wife Kimberley have listed their personal residence, located next door to the Playboy mansion, for sale at $28M.

SELLERS: Hugh and Kimberly Hefner
LOCATION: S. Mapleton Drive, Los Angeles
PRICE: $27,995,000
SIZE: 7,318 square feet, 7 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: Exquisite 2 Acre Country English Holmby Hills Manor. ADJACENT TO LOS ANGELES COUNTRY CLUB. This magnificent walled estate includes remarkable grounds and privacy. 2 story entry, spacious living room w/ fireplace & beautiful garden vistas, large family room adjoins the dining room & eat-in gourmet kitchen opening to charming outdoor terrace. Enormous motor court. Rolling lawns, mature trees and wonderful private pool area.

 

The 7,318 square, 7 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms private residence (Photo:the real estalker)

The billionaire Real Estate mogul Donald Trump has told CNN anchor, Larry King, that he supports John McCain.

I’ve known him. I like him. I respect him. He’s a smart guy and I think he’s going to be a great president,” Trump said Wednesday night on CNN’s Larry King Live. “I endorse him.”

This endorsement comes as no surprise as according to finance records Trump has donated to McCain for years now.

It looks as though the US housing market might not be the only one in a slump. Numbers released earlier this weeks show that London, the worlds most expensive city, is in a bit of a house slump itself. Numbers released show that housing prices fell 1.6% with in the last twelve months since August of last year, granted this was based on an index of only houses price at $2 million or more, it is still of concern to many. Total prime real estate residential sales are down over 46% compared to last year in the same twelve month period. Analysts blame a “pessimism in the financial services sector” as the reason for the sharp down turn.

And to make matter worse, this story just hit the wires….

German housing manufacturer, is offering custom built luxury treehouse dwellings. The units are 100% custom built depending on your local. The company currently offers the tree-top homes in 6 countries, including the US. Since the house are almost all custom jobs, there isn’t too much price info on the units. Expect to pay upwards on $10,000.00 USD however. Check out their website for more info on the units.