As if this wasn’t enticing enough, Traton Homes is making it easy for families to move to this amazing community by offering new price reductions up to $75,900 plus $5,000 in closing cost bonuses on three of its move-in ready homes at Westminister Place.

Westminister Place is an intimate enclave of only 14 home sites. Priced from the $500,000s, all homes boast basements and sit on full-acre sites. The three move-in ready homes include the Inglewood, Providence and Lexington designs and offer hardwoods, gourmet kitchens, granite countertops, three-car garages and more. However, you’re not limited to these three designs. Buyers may also choose a Traton plan and build at the community with new presale pricing.

Make 2012 your year of change: go ahead and visit http://www.TratonHomes.com for more information about Westminister Place as well as all of Traton’s wonderful communities.

There is some great news for the American housing market as it continues to recover! Homeownership is still considered the American Dream by 78 percent of respondents in Trulia.com’s American Dream Survey. The American public’s optimistic attitude toward homeownership and newfound eagerness to enter the market will undoubtedly be key to its full recovery.

Prudential Real Estate is also reporting the positive trend in American perceptions of the market. In terms of when the recovery will come, about 68 percent of America’s potential home buyers expect that the market will be recovered in the next year according to a recent survey.

The Prudential Real Estate Outlook Survey also reports that 58 percent of its respondents are currently interested in purchasing real estate and that 45 percent are considering trading up.  These developments indicate that Orlando new homes will continue to see high demand.

Orlando Real Estate forum will continue to provide news and insights about the housing market’s recovery in the area and the country.

Are your feelings on the housing market’s recovery positive? Do you have plans to invest in a new home in the coming months?

Highland Homes has designed seven new floor plans for the Belmont Park homes. The homes are patio-style and feature tiled showers, covered lanais (per plan) and hundreds more options for home buyers to choose from. Priced from the low-100,000s, homes have three to four bedrooms, two to 2.5 baths and range from 1,230 to 2,179 square feet. Home buyers can also take advantage of the $99 Moves You In special offer.

Belmont Park is located directly across from the Imperial Lakes Golf and Country Club for residents’ convenience and ease of access.

Construction will soon start on the model home which will feature the Gardenia floor plan. Other floor plans include the Gardenia, Azalea, Camellia, Cypress, Hawthorne, Juniper and Rosemary.

To learn more about Belmont Park, visit the Highland Homes website.

Highland Homes is pleased to announce that it is now selling Tampa new homes in two new communities: Trapnell Ridge in Plant City and Sunset Hills in Dade City, Fla. Both communities offer exceptional homes in convenient locations.

“We are excited to be a part of Trapnell Ridge and Sunset Hills,” said Kathie McDaniel, vice president of sales and marketing for Highland Homes. “Both communities offer outstanding value, and, through the help of the Pasco County Neighborhood Stabilization Program, eligible buyers at Sunset Hills will receive $50,000 in down payment assistance!”

Highland Homes recently acquired six inventory homes and several home sites from a previous builder at Trapnell Ridge. Located off Trapnell Road and Turkey Creek Road in Plant City, in Hillsborough County, the community features three and four bedroom inventory homes, and three to five bedroom to-be-built homes priced from $119,900. Trapnell Ridge is convenient to Brandon, Tampa and Lakeland as well as historic downtown Plant City known for its boutique restaurants and shops, brick-paved streets and annual Strawberry Festival.

Located in Dade City in Pasco County, Sunset Hills is a new community of three to four bedrooms homes priced from the $130,000s, and offers $50,000 in down payment assistance for qualified buyers. Floor plans boast 1,250 to 2,179 square feet with move-in ready features including a refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer and window blinds. The community is convenient to Hwy 301, Interstate 75, Lake Jovita and St. Leo University as well as historic downtown Dade City, known for its unique architecture, small town atmosphere and sense of community.

As always, Tampa home builder Highland Homes offers Florida new homes for just $99 out-of-pocket for qualified buyers.

For more information or directions to Trapnell Ridge, visit the Highland Homes website at http://www.highlandhomes.org/community.php?cid=97 or call 813-704-6947. For more information or directions to Sunset Hills, visit the Highland Homes website at http://www.highlandhomes.org/community.php?cid=96 or call 813-395-8977.

At Westminister Place in Milton, new home buyers will find amazing price reductions. In fact, the builder has reduced the cost of one the community’s homes by $46,100! Featuring the Providence plan, this home is every buyers dream and features a basement, five bedrooms and four bathrooms on a one-acre cul-de-sac lot, priced at $544,900. Other elegant finishes include architectural roof shingles, a three-car garage, double decks, fireplaces, heavy trim and hardwood floors. Buyers will be delighted to find out that this home also features a $5,000 closing cost bonus.

In Buckhead near Chastain Park, Valley Brook Parc is an elegant new home community. Here, Traton is offering a $25,000 buyer bonus on two move-in ready homes. The first home features the Charleston floor plan priced at $575,000. This home offers four bedrooms, three bathrooms, 10-foot ceilings on the main, hardwoods, a fireplace and spacious kitchen. Priced at $600,000, the second home boasts the Meadowbrook design with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. This home features a separate dining room, spacious master suite with sitting area and gourmet kitchen.

For more information about these incentives and communities, visit http://www.TratonHomes.com.

Traton Homes offers beautiful homes in Atlanta and throughout the metro area. One city to consider when moving to the Atlanta area is Kennesaw, located in Cobb County.

Traton Homes, headquartered in Marietta, continues to see success at its new home communities in Cobb County. In the past year, it has sold out of five communities in Cobb County and opened an additional five.

Recently, Traton Homesopened Davis Farm, a private enclave of only 30 homes, 21 which will be built by Traton. Traton Homes is offering spacious single-family homes from the $330,000s. The first three pre-sale buyers in the community can take advantage of a free third-car garage, and for a limited time all buyers can receive $5,000 in closing costs plus price reductions up to $23,000.

Children at Davis Farm attend Hayes Elementary, Pine Mountain Middle and Kennesaw Mountain High schools.

To visit Davis Farm, take I-75 North to exit 269 (Barrett Parkway), turn left and travel 3.2 miles to Stilesboro Road. Turn right on Stilesboro and travel 2 miles. Davis Farm is located on the left.

Visit the Traton blog for more information about new community openings and incentives.

To celebrate and honor those who put safety first at home, four safety-focused brands have teamed up to find the Safest Families in America.

Through an online contest, families can upload videos showcasing their commitment to safety.

The three families that best exemplify safety will be named the Safest Families in America in this nationwide contest, which is sponsored by Zarbee’s Children’s Cough Syrup, First Alert Inc., Puj and Shield-Safety.

“Safety is an incredibly important factor when it comes to good parenting,” said Kathy Scoleri, founder of SafeMama.com and a judge for the nationwide contest. “I’m excited to see how families are living safe lives and to provide educational resources to other parents who may need some extra help protecting their families.”

The grand prize packages include:

*A lifetime supply of Zarbee’s Children’s Cough Syrup plus a $1,500 college fund grant

*A whole-home safety prize package from First Alert that includes $1,100 in products

*A Shield-Safety Revolutionary Care Center

*One Puj Tub, signed by designer and Puj super star Katie, and two pairs of Puj Bootis, handmade by Katie. Winning families also will be part of Puj’s Exclusive Product Testers, getting Puj products and updates before they are officially announced.

Anyone who submits a video and provides contact information will get coupons from the contest sponsors.

Videos must be submitted by May 15, so start filming. The winners will be announced on or around May 24.

For complete contest details, visit safestfamilies.com.

CM Real Estate Development, LLC, purchased a 1928 vintage brick bungalow in west suburban Cicero with the intention of retrofitting it with energy-efficient appliances and green construction materials.

The home, located at 1335 South Central Avenue, is currently in the certification process for an NAHB’s National Green Building Certification at the Bronze level. If successful, it will become the first Green Certified Home Rehab for the National Association of Home Builders in Illinois.

The single-family home has three bedrooms and one bath in approximately 3,300 square feet of space. CM Real Estate Development is preserving the house’s historical elements while upgrading it with green features, including:

* Soy-based, all-natural paint and varnish remover

* Tankless water heater

* Low-VOC floor finish

* Low-flow faucets and 93 percent recycled-content tub

* FSC-certified kitchen cabinets

* New, insulated attic windows

* ENERGY STAR-rated back door and kitchen appliances

* Energy-saving light bulbs and dimmers

* Timer-set bathroom exhaust fan

* Low-water landscape plantings

* Recycled garage roofing materials and garage siding

The company is also reusing building materials, employing local recyclers that recycle up to 95 percent of the waste created during reconstruction, and utilizing local contractors and vendors to create jobs.

CM Real Estate Development purchased the home in February with financing from GreenChoice Bank, the Midwest’s first sustainable bank.

The company tries to make its homes affordable and plans on selling this rehab project for $129,900.

CM Real Estate Development is owned by Chris McAuliffe, who is a speaker for the U.S. Green Building Council-Illinois and an expert on green development, environmentally friendly construction and tax incentives for green houses.

Seems like the right guy for the job.

For more information, visit cmrealestatedevelopment.com.

The Ben Rose Home in Highland Park has been on the market for two years and is now trying to drum up new publicity.

The Ben Rose Home, you ponder? Sound familiar but can’t quite place it?

You probably know it better as Cameron’s house in the movie, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

The 5,300-square-foot home, which went up for sale in 2009 for $2.3 million, has been pulled off the market after the house suffered roof damage and interior water damage following a storm.

The old furniture was discarded, and now the owners are looking for donations.

According to Curbed Chicago, Coldwell Banker listing agent Meladee Hughes said the current owners are working with several major furniture stores interested in donating some high-end pieces so the home can be re-staged.

“The higher-end we can get, the better we will like it,” Hughes told Curbed Chicago.

In exchange for the furniture, the stores get publicity, as does the house.

Hughes says she hopes to have the home re-staged and ready to go back on the market by mid-May or early June.

The asking price on the famous home, 370 Beech Street, was lowered to $1.65 million in January before it was pulled. Wonder what the new price tag will be and if the new furniture will be included.