The importance of a contract: For Ken and Lori Bryden, the climax of a sad and costly tale is set for Jan. 29; that's the day the local sheriff in Brockville is slated to auction off their dream home-turned-nightmare. They never even got to move in. The lesson to be learned from this tale is to never retain a contractor to build or even renovate a home without having a full set of construction plans prepared by an architect or engineer, and a detailed contract.

Home Decorating: Pink, white and frilly as a Valentine, the hand-painted façade belonging to this century home on Avenue Road, north of Dupont, at first glance suggests a designer's atelier, or boutique. But then the word “Anselmo,” written in large letters over a double-pane two-way mirrored window, gives its identity away.

Wanna head down-under?: This traditional Australian ranch house is located in Macarthur, one of the most historic areas of the country, about one hour south of Sydney by car. The community's main attraction is the farm of early settlers John and Elizabeth Macarthur, which dates to 1805 and comprises the oldest surviving collection of farm buildings in Australia.

Luxury in Bolton: The town of Bolton has few housing options aside from low-rise dwellings, a factor that has contributed to the popularity of Armour Heights Developments' new adult-lifestyle condominium. More than half of its 71 luxury suites have sold in a little over two months.

Clean Air Home Design: The kitchen cabinetry in designer Eric Tomas' recent renovation project is formaldehyde-free particleboard. If that doesn't sound very hip and trendy, consider how very un-hip the sound of coughing and wheezing is. As a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-accredited designer, Mr. Tomas, 33, helps clients avoid the pitfalls of indoor air pollution.

Heads-up, Toronto Real Estate Scam: No down payment, security deposit, paperwork or monthly mortgage payments – we'll take care of all that – and in a year or two we'll help you flip that nice condominium and you'll walk away with a fat profit. Sign here. Phantom real estate was only part of it, police say.

Canada hits 100 billion dollars: The total annual value of resale homes sold in Canada topped the $100-billion mark for the first time in 2007, but some late-year signs of fatigue in the market are expected to carry into 2008. Sales came in at a total $118.3-billion last year, while the average price of an existing home also hit a record of $326,055 in the major cities tracked by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).

US housing starts plumet: Housing starts and building permits plunged in December much more than expected, resulting in a full-year decline in new home construction that was the sharpest drop in 27 years. After such robust growth this must be expected. For the year, housing starts fell 25 percent to 1.35 million. That decline represents the biggest drop since the recession year of 1980 and the third largest drop since the Census Bureau started tracking this activity in 1959.

Appraiser sues band for being blacklisted: A former real estate appraiser for Washington Mutual is suing the bank, claiming she was blacklisted last year for providing a housing market forecast that was too gloomy. In the lawsuit, which was filed a week ago, Wertz says she completed appraisals on two houses in May and then quickly got a call from a WaMu sales manager demanding she change her outlook to "stable" so a loan could be approved.

Mexican housing market booming: In her busy niche of real estate brokerage, Ana Laura Pulido is doing her best business in years, enjoying a sort of Mexican style immunity from the looming U.S. housing crash. Another huge potential market is the estimated 11 million Mexicans in the U.S., who can now buy "cross-border" mortgages to pay off homes in Mexico, increasing their control over earnings they send relatives and cutting the time they need to work in the U.S. to build a future back home.