Justin Bieber Named Worst Celebrity Neighbor in 2014; Jimmy Fallon Voted Most Desirable Neighbor for Second Year in a Row

Americans would most like to be neighbors with comedian and late-night-show host Jimmy Fallon in 2015, according to the eighth annual Zillow® Celebrity Neighbor Surveyi. Pop star Justin Bieber was named the least desirable neighbor of 2014, earning the most "worst neighbor" votes in the survey's eight-year history.

The annual Zillow survey asks U.S. adults which celebrities they would most like to be their neighbor, and with whom they wouldn't want to share a fence.

Most Desirable Neighbors in 2015For the second year in a row, Fallon was the top choice for a celebrity neighbor, earning 10 percent of surveyed adults' votes, down slightly from 11 percent last year. The comedian's popularity was higher among voters with kids (14 percent) than those without (8 percent).

Country music couple, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton were a close second place with 9 percent of the votes. The stars were more favored by female voters surveyed (12 percent) than males (6 percent).  

Worst Neighbors for 2014Infamous pop star Justin Bieber topped the list of worst neighbors for the year, earning the highest percentage of votes in survey history. One in three voters (34 percent) found Bieber to be the most undesirable neighbor of 2014, an increase from 16 percent last year.

Last year's worst neighbors, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, came in second with 22 percent of the votes, down slightly from 25 percent last year. The newlyweds ranked higher on the list by large margins compared to competitors Miley Cyrus (10 percent),Donald Trump (5 percent) and Alec Baldwin (3 percent).

"From his frequent run-ins with the law to his over-the-top house parties, Justin Bieber has earned himself quite a bad-boy reputation that only continued to build in 2014," said Amy Bohutinsky, Zillow chief marketing officer. "No one wants to live on the same street as someone accused of reckless driving or egging neighboring homes, which is likely why Bieber received the highest percentage of 'worst' votes in survey history. Jimmy Fallon, on the other hand, had an incredibly successful first year on 'The Tonight Show,' is well-liked by Americans and carries a positive, relatable vibe. Plus who wouldn't want to live next to someone who makes you laugh?"

Thirty-six percent of surveyed adults said they would not want to live next to any of the celebrities listed in the poll.

Most Desirable Neighbors for 2015		Worst Neighbors of 2014
Name	Percent	Name	Percent
Jimmy Fallon	10	Justin Bieber	34
Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton	9	Kim Kardashian and Kanye West	22
Taylor Swift	7	Miley Cyrus	10
Matthew McConaughey	7	Donald Trump	5
Neil Patrick Harris	6	Alec Baldwin	3
George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin	4	Taylor Swift	3
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis	4	Gwyneth Paltrow	2
Other	6	Other	2
None of the above	36	None of the above	14

For more celebrity real estate news, visit the Zillow Blog.

Selfless Giving Shifts to Selfish Shopping Post-Holidays: More Than Half of Consumers Plan to Shop for Themselves During After-Christmas Sales

Even after the holiday craziness is over, the shopping continues! According to two recent surveys by digital offers destination RetailMeNot, the majority of consumers surveyed (81%) plan to shop end-of-year sales, and of these shoppers taking advantage of post-holiday savings, more than half (63%) plan to shop for themselves! Millennials are especially interested in after-Christmas sales, as 92% of respondents 18 to 34 years old said they plan to shop during this time. 

While lower prices (66%) and deals (59%) are top motivators for end-of-year shopping, nearly a quarter (23%) of survey respondents indicate they shop post-holiday sales because they are ready to indulge on themselves after completing their shopping for others. And selfish shoppers are not sparing any expense – these consumers are willing to spend an average of $160 on themselves and $179 on gifts for others. Men plan to spend substantially more on themselves during end-of-year sales than women ($197 vs. $131).

What is your return policy?

Returning holiday gifts is on the decline! According to the survey, only 32% of shoppers indicated they typically return gifts that they receive from family and friends for the holidays. In 2013, close to half (45%) of shoppers admitted to typically returning gifts.*

When it comes to returns, respondents prefer to get money back from the store (40%). Less favored were getting gift cards/certificates (16%), exchanges for other items at the store (13%) and store credit (11%).

Gift cards reign supreme

Although once considered an impersonal gift choice, almost half (46%) of survey respondents say their favorite holiday present to receive is a gift card. Proving their popularity, more than 9 in 10 (91%) November survey respondents have received a gift card at least once as a holiday present. These recipients don't waste time cashing them in either! More than 4 in 5 (84%) would not let their holiday gift cards go unused past January.

However, more than half of those who received a gift card don't actually use it on themselves. Nearly 2 in 5 (38%) surveyed in November have used a gift card they received to purchase a present for someone else and more than 1 in 4 (27%) have gifted a card they received to another person. Women are more likely to use gift cards to buy someone else a present, with 44% of women admitting to doing this versus 32% of men. Other respondents have either sold the gift card for the cash equivalent (11%) or used a gift card exchange site (9%).

To make the most of after-Christmas sales, consumers can visit RetailMeNot.com or download the RetailMeNot Coupons app for iPhone, Android and iPad, to access thousands of offers that can be used online or in-store to save money. Additionally, The Real Deal by RetailMeNot posts a roundup of Can't Miss Coupons every week here: http://www.retailmenot.com/blog/best-coupons-of-the-week.html

References to survey results are to the December survey, unless otherwise noted.

The 2014 Holiday Season

This festive season, or simply the holidays, is a time for gathering and celebrating with family and friends, gift giving, reflection and thanks. To commemorate this time of year, the U.S. Census Bureau presents the following holiday-related facts and figures from its collection of statistics.     

Rush to the Stores

$24.4 billion Estimated retail sales by the nation's department stores (including leased departments) in December 2013. This represents an estimated 40.9 percent jump from the previous month when retail sales were estimated at 17.3 billion. No other month-to-month increase in department store sales last year was as large.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Monthly Retail Trade Survey 
http://www.census.gov/econ/currentdata/dbsearch?program=MRTS&startYear=2013&endYear=2013&categories=4521I&dataType=SM&geoLevel=US&notAdjusted=1&submit=GET+DATA

Note: Leased departments are separately owned businesses operated as departments or concessions of other service establishments or of retail businesses, such as a separately owned shoeshine parlor in a barber shop, or a beauty shop in a department store. Also, retail sales and inventory estimates have not been adjusted to account for seasonal or pricing variations.

13.9% The estimated percentage of total 2013 sales for department stores (including leased departments) in December. For jewelry stores, the estimated percentage was 19.1 percent. 
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Monthly Retail Trade Survey
http://www.census.gov/econ/currentdata/dbsearch?program=MRTS&startYear=1992&endYear=2013&categories=4521I&dataType=SM&geoLevel=US&notAdjusted=1&submit=GET+DATA

http://www.census.gov/econ/currentdata/dbsearch?program=MRTS&startYear=1992&endYear=2013&categories=44831&dataType=SM&geoLevel=US&notAdjusted=1&submit=GET+DATA

22.8% 
The estimated growth in inventories by our nation's department stores (excluding leased departments) from Aug. 31 to Nov. 30, 2013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Monthly Retail Trade Survey
http://www.census.gov/econ/currentdata/dbsearch?program=MRTS&startYear=1992&endYear=2013&categories=4521E&dataType=IM&geoLevel=US&notAdjusted=1&submit=GET+DATA

$44.5 billion  Estimated value of retail sales by electronic shopping and mail-order houses in December 2013 — the highest total for any month last year. 
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Monthly Retail Trade Survey
http://www.census.gov/econ/currentdata/dbsearch?program=MRTS&startYear=1992&endYear=2013&categories=4541&dataType=SM&geoLevel=US&notAdjusted=1&submit=GET+DATA

30,185 The number of electronic shopping and mail-order houses in business in 2012. These businesses, which employed 365,508 workers in the pay period including March 12, are a popular source of holiday gifts.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 County Business Patterns
http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/BP/2012/00A1//naics~45411

Christmas Trees and Decorations

$1.0 billion The value of U.S. imports of Christmas tree ornaments from China between January and September 2014. China was the leading country of origin for such items. Similarly, China was the leading foreign source of artificial Christmas trees shipped to the United States ($137.5 million worth) during the same period. 
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Statistics
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade

Where the Toys are ... Made

563 The number of locations that primarily produced dolls, toys, and games in 2012; they employed 7,481 workers in the pay period including March 12.  California led the nation with 95 establishments. 
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 County Business Patterns
http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/BP/2012/00A1//naics~33993

Holiday Names

Place names associated with the holiday season consist of a dozen places named Holly including Mount Holly, N.C. (population 13,904) and Holly Springs, Miss. (7,558). There is Snowflake, Ariz. (5,576), Santa Claus, Ind. (2,501), North Pole, Alaska (2,214),Noel, Mo. (1,809) and — if you know about reindeer — Dasher, Ga. (944) and Rudolph village, Wis. (436). There is also Unity, N.H.(1640), and Peace, N.D. (28). 
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates
http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2013/SUB-EST2013-3.html

Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa

52.3% Estimated proportion of the nation's potatoes produced in Idaho and Washington during the fall of 2013. Potatoes are a popular dish served during the holidays.   
Source: National Agriculture Statistics Service, Page 2
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Washington/Publications/Current_News_Release/PT09_1.pdf

$1.6 billion The estimated value of product shipments of candles in 2012 by U.S. manufacturers. Many of these candles are lit during Diwali (Oct. 23), Hanukkah (Dec. 16-24) and Kwanzaa (Dec. 26-Jan. 1) celebrations. 
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Economic Census, Industry Serieshttp://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/31I2//prodsvc~3399995

Nearly 450 million to 470 millionPackages of mail the U.S. Postal Service expects to deliver between Nov. 17 and Christmas Day. This is a 12 percent increase from last year.
Source: U.S. Postal Service
http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2014/pr14_057.htm
Following is a list of observances typically covered by the Census Bureau's Facts for Features series:

African-American History Month (February)	Labor Day
Super Bowl	Grandparents Day
Valentine's Day (Feb. 14)	Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15)
Women's History Month (March)	Unmarried and Single Americans Week
Irish-American Heritage Month (March)/	Halloween (Oct. 31)
St. Patrick's Day (March 17)	American Indian/Alaska Native Heritage Month
Earth Day (April 22)	(November)
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (May)	Veterans Day (Nov. 11)
Older Americans Month (May)	Thanksgiving Day
Mother's Day	The Holiday Season (December)
Hurricane Season Begins (June 1)
Father's Day
The Fourth of July (July 4)
Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act (July 26)
Back to School (August)

Realtor.com® 2014 Housing Review: A Year of Jobs, Record-Low Interest and Tight Inventory Sets the Stage for 2015 Growth

This year demonstrated a steady build-up of housing momentum –fueled by significant improvements in economic fundamentals, low mortgage rates, and compressed inventory – and is expected to carry the market into 2015 gains, according to the 2014 Housing Review issued today by realtor.com®, a leading provider of online real estate services operated by News Corp subsidiary Move, Inc. This review includes the Top 10 Real Estate Trends that defined the 2014 housing market, as well as the Most-Searched Neighborhoods of the year. 

"Many of the gains that we recently predicted in the realtor.com® 2015 Housing Forecast are built on housing growth established in 2014. Overall, this year's housing market showed steady advances over 2013 with significant improvement in key housing metrics, despite some remaining challenges," said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com®. "Increases in job creation and gross domestic product (GDP) have had a significant impact on consumer confidence and home buyer demand. Paired with historically low interest rates, these factors kept properties moving quickly with median time on market at approximately 90 days. Unfortunately, the low number of homes for sale and stringent lending standards prevented a normal number of first time home buyers from closing on their first home in 2014."   

Realtor.com®'s Top 10 Real Estate Trends of 2014

Indicators demonstrating a stronger housing recovery:

1. Improving economic fundamentals: After an especially harsh winter earlier in the year, the economy picked up steam and produced a banner year for new jobs. The GDP this year was higher, and is still trending higher, resulting in stronger consumer confidence.
2. Historically low mortgage rates continued: Mortgage rates declined despite the end of quantitative easing this year. Global weakness, along with actions by the European Central Bank and similar central banks in Asia kept our Federal Reserve from raising the Federal Fund Rate, which kept mortgage rates low. 
3. Deceleration of abnormal home price gains or return to normal price appreciation: After two years of abnormally high levels of home price appreciation in 2012 and 2013, price increases moderated throughout 2014. We are now experiencing increases in home prices consistent with long-term historical performance.
4. Decline of distressed sales: Foreclosures and short sales declined throughout the year, and while total home sales decreased year over year, normal (non-distressed) home sales increased over 2013 – due to the decline of the distressed sales market. Foreclosure inventories also fell substantially, and are forecasted to be down 30 percent year over year at the close of 2014. 
5. End of the era of major investors active in purchases: Related to the drop in distressed sales opportunities, and against backdrop of higher home prices, portfolios of single-family homes for rent potentially reached their peak earlier this year. Large-scale investor purchase activity in the single-family market sector continued to decline, enabling more room for traditional first-time buyers.

Factors holding back recovery:

1. Tight credit standards and limited mortgage availability: Despite historically low rates, many households were prevented from capitalizing on mortgage access because of overlays lenders added to qualification standards in order to limit put-back risk. A tight spread between approved and declined FICO Scores shut out nearly half of the potential population this year. As a result, mortgage credit availability did not improve in 2014.
2. Tight supply of inventory: While absolute inventories increased as the year progressed, supply did not outpace demand. Monthly supply of new homes and existing homes remained beneath normal levels, and the age of inventory was down year over year.
3. Depressed levels of first-time buyers: The share of first-time buyers fell to the lowest level in over twenty years according to the National Association of Realtors. "But the first-time buyer share is showing signs of modest improvement by the year-end," said Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist. Federal policy actions, such as revised regulations for lenders and new low down-payment programs introduced in December are anticipated to have a positive impact in 2015.
4. Record levels of renters and ever-increasing rent prices: Continued declines in homeownership rates resulted in record numbers of renting households. Rent increases became an inflationary concern this year, and looking ahead, the pace of these increases are not slowing down.
5. Lack of recovery in homebuilding and low share of new home sales: Single-family starts barely increased in 2014 over 2013. New home sales remain far from normal share levels – typically near 16 percent, now instead around 9 percent. New home prices increased substantially again this year, revealing that higher priced product is limiting the demand.

"In 2014, we also saw some neighborhoods stand out from the pack, eliciting the most searches on realtor.com® for the entire year. The hyper-local markets on this list demonstrate the wonderful diversity of real estate demand across the country," Smoke said. "Median list prices in these most-searched neighborhoods are near $400,000, well above national median of $214,000, as well as their respective metro medians. Homes in these communities are moving quickly as the aggregated median age for the group is almost half of the national median of 90 days." 

Realtor.com®'s Most-Searched Neighborhoods in 2014

Rank	Market	ZIP Code	Median List Price	Local point of interest
1.	Orlando, Fla.	32801	$276,000	Thornton Park District
2.	Las Vegas	89138	$380,000	Red Rock Resort and Spa
3.	New Orleans	70124	$398,000	New Orleans City Park
4.	Fort Worth, Texas	76109	$380,000	Fort Worth Zoo
5.	Savannah, Ga.	31401	$284,000	Savannah History Museum
6.	Fort Wayne, Ind.	46845	$146,000	Pine Valley Country Club
7.	Raleigh, N.C.	27617	$268,000	William B. Umstead State Park
8.	San Diego	92106	$974,000	Historic Lighthouse Point Loma
9.	Chicago	60646	$398,000	Edgebrook Golf Course
10.	Columbus, Ohio	43212	$298,000	Columbus Fish Market

Rankings are based on realtor.com® search and unique visitor statistics at ZIP level from January to November 2014 (desktop only, excludes mobile and web apps). Figures are adjusted relative to housing stock. Ranked ZIPs have a minimum of 5,000 listings.

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