Welcome to another week in 2012. Some of us had a three day weekend and most of the nation caught a little NFL playoff fever. But with one month of 2012 half gone, here are some real estate headlines to keep you in the know:

• The KCM Blog has a post on creating wealth through home ownership and the proof to back it up.
• Realtor.com profiles a modern fortress in today’s security conscious culture that is available for $5.9 million.
• MSN Real Estate declares “Finally a Bottom for Home Prices.”
• CNN Money calls housing “the one bailout America could really use.”
• A new study by Yahoo! find the American Dream Home is turning “green.”
• And finally, LXTV Open House takes you inside a $30 million mega mansion listed by Coldwell Banker Real Estate superstar team, The Jills.

There’s nothing quite like a new year to reset your life a bit. Resolutions to be made. Goals to be set. And a full 365 days to achieve them. But for now we’ll start with baby steps and get you some of the most interesting real estate headlines for this new year.

• The KCM Blog compares real estate to other investments and concludes that you can’t live in your IRA.
• MSNBC polled people to find out who is the most and least wanted neighbors. Tim Tebow is #1 on the most wanted listed while the cast of Jersey Shore takes the prize on the least wanted.
• Investopedia writes about how you can use real estate to put off tax bills.
• TheAtlanticCities.com takes a look at the awkward art of neighborhood naming.
• And finally PTMoney.com lists the 5 big benefits of a smaller home.

Photo provided by Flickr user Jeff Kern

Would you live in a house that's a shoe?

By now you’ve probably made your list, checked it twice and discovered you still have more presents to buy. It’s the week before Christmas and the hustle and bustle is upon us. To get your week off to the right start, here are some real estate headlines:

• Calculated Risk has ten economic questions for 2012 that need to be answered about the housing market
• US News has a list of 10 rookie home buyer mistakes to avoid
• Yahoo Real Estate features some real life storybook homes that are more than make believe.
• And finally…Inman News came out with their list of the 100 most influential people in real estate. Coldwell Banker CEO, Jim Gillespie, and COO, Budge Huskey, both made the list.

Jennifer Aniston's Gramercy Park Apt.

For some parts of the country this is an election week. I know my town is littered with campaign billboards in front yards as well as the usual Coldwell Banker yard signs. So as you measure the quality of character of your candidate, here’s your real estate headlines of the people, by the people and for the people:

• Haute Living reports that actress Jennifer Aniston has found some new digs in Gramercy Park for a cool $9 million.
• Inman News has a report on the top 20 healthiest housing markets. #1 is Minneapolis.
• CNN Money has a headline that makes most parents cringe: “I’m home! Adult children move back in.”
• And finally, Time’s Moneyland has a list of the 9 priciest homes currently on the market. The Fleur De Lys estate tops the list at $125 million.