Reports abound that Jennifer Aniston is the name attached to the latest high-profile real estate purchase in Bel-Air, California; purchase price is $21 million. The news has sent more than a few down personal memory lanes to those somewhat halcyon days of 2005 when property prices had yet to decline (steeply) and the automotive and banking industries had yet to imagine (perhaps) their needing huge public bailouts in just a few years’ time. Clearly, those days, apart from the ongoing Iraq and Afghanistan wars, deciding on a black Team Aniston or red Team Jolie tee seemed like the height of our social pickles.

But now it’s 2012, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have six children together, we know the names of the first African-American First Family, and our beloved troops in Iraq (at least) have been called to return home. Oh yes, and Jenifer Aniston is denying pregnancy rumors alongside her current boyfriend, Justin Theroux, with whom, to go by a Wall Street Journal headline, the distinguished comedienne is jointly buying the splashy Bel-Air residence last owned by Robert Maguire, a real estate bigwig.

The new home totals 8,500 square feet and comes with four bedrooms, seven and a half bathrooms, about three acres of land, a handsome vineyard and requisite wine cellar, and a comfy guest house. There’s also, of course, a nicely appointed pool and the beautiful vistas that money makes so much easier to enjoy. Her illustrious (in some circles) new neighbors will include Hugh Hefner, Nicholas Cage, and Lauren Bacall.

The star’s freshest addition to her storied real estate portfolio first went on sale in 2008. Aniston, who will forever be remembered as Rachel from “Friends,” was represented by Jade Mills from Coldwell Banker of Beverly Hills. Mills was also the woman who represented Avril Lavigne in the successful sale of her big pad to Clippers point guard Chris Paul last week.

The marriage of Kobe and Vanessa Bryant has been tabloid fodder for years, but the press has been especially busy covering the details of their recent divorce settlement. It seems that even a couple who started their relationship with all the promise of a genuinely sweet love story — they met as teens, fell in love, and got married, famously without a prenuptial agreement because Kobe “loved [Vanessa] too much — could not get the happy ending they clearly, at one point, really wanted. They were married in the spring of 2001.

This past December, Vanessa Bryant filed for divorce, and “irreconcilable differences” was the reason listed in the documents. The once-happy couple has two daughters together, Natalia Diamante Bryant and Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant. Though no divorce process can be expected to be lacking in tribulations, the two parties in question were able to agree on their divorce settlement deal prior to the divorce becoming a matter of public record; both are requesting joint custody of their girls.

As part of the settlement, Vanessa will receive half of the total assets she and Kobe owned while married, which are estimated to be worth $150 million. That means Vanessa Bryant will be getting $75 million as a result of the divorce. But what’s really gotten the real estate watchers all over in rapt attention is that Vanessa will be keeping all three family homes that once also belonged to Kobe. All of those houses are located in the Newport Beach area of Southern California. One of those was only just completed after a construction period that lasted two years.

Bryant is a shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. Besides his incredible skills on the court, Kobe is also known for his intellectual persona. He speaks Spanish and Italian and has demonstrated interests in international affairs. But that is not all he is known for. Not quite a decade ago, Bryant was accused of sexual assault by a 19-year-old woman who worked in a hotel in Colorado where he stayed before undergoing surgery. That initial case was dropped, but the same woman filed a civil suit that was settled out of court.

It’s being reported that basketball champ Chris Paul, who’s currently a point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers, has agreed to buy singer Avril Lavigne’s Bel Air Crest home. Paul will be paying $9.5 million for the swanky mansion. In exchange for the hefty fee, the Olympic gold winner will make his home in 12,184 square feet of luxurious space. As reporters have been quick to point out after news of the deal broke, Chris Paul has the money to shell out because he’s in the third year of a four-year contract with the Clippers worth $68 million.

The reports that have been circulating online attribute the successful sale to representation, for Paul and Lavigne, respectively, by SportsRelocation.com and Coldwell Banker of Beverly Hills. The agents involved were Ikem Chukumerije, and Jade Mills and Zach Quittman, who work as a duo.

Avril Lavigne’s reasons for ditching the beautiful digs? Most likely the finalization of her divorce from Deryck Whibley, the man she dated since she was teenager and married at twenty-one. Their marriage officially ended in November 2010. When the residence was listed back in May 2011, the asking price was $9.5 million.

What are some of the most salient features of the clearly celebrity-friendly estate? Well, its eight bedrooms and ten and a half bathrooms certainly help when you’re one to throw big bashes and expect multiple overnight guests. For every full bathroom in the house, there’s also a spot for a car in the garage — that means it fits ten! For wine aficionados, there’s a wine cellar to enjoy, and for those who consider physical health of upmost importance (hello, Paul), there’s a generously appointed gym that comes with a sauna.

Before Lavigne became the proud owner of the luxe mase, fellow(ish) rocker Travis Barker, the drummer for Blink-182, called the place home and lived there with his now-ex-wife Shauna Moakler. When this pair appeared on the show “Meet the Barkers,” TV viewers got a chance to see the lavish digs through the weekly episodes.

If Chris Paul stays in the mansion for the long-haul, it’s certainly hoped that his romantic endeavors are of a more enduring nature.

Tiger Woods is known for his spectacular talent, prodigal wealth, and extravagant affairs. By contrast, Elin Nordegren, the Swedish woman who until an August 2011 divorce was his wife for nearly six years, has been characterized in public by her reserved demeanor and abstention from personal scandal, well, at least anything excluding the 2009 revelations that her famous husband had over a hundred extra-marital affairs. Aside from that headline-grabbing heyday, there’s been nary an indecorous deed to attribute to her.

That’s why, when Nordegren decided to raze the $12 million mansion she purchased in March 2011 to rebuild a nearly identical home, tongues (and keyboards) started wagging. Was it not an obvious sign of an incorrigible frivolousness that had seeped into the blonde beauty’s soul after receiving the windfall that was her divorce settlement?

That’s probably hard to prove, but what is known is that the demolished home was not up to current building codes in terms of wind-loads, or, in more common parlance, it might not have withstood the pounding of a hurricane. The land Nordegren bought is in Semiole Landing, an exclusive gated community of North Palm Beach, Florida, a mere ten miles away from Tiger Wood’s Jupiter Island residence. The new home, built on the same Semiole Landing beachfront location, will be a modern version of the impressive Colonial-style structure that was leveled in December. Florida’s Martin County’s Habitat for Humanity was given a month to rescue anything of value from the mansion before it was torn down. It was during this time that termite and carpenter ant infestations were discovered in the mansion.

According to uncovered building plans, the Swede’s new house will have nine bedrooms, double kitchens and double living rooms, a pool, grotto, and two jacuzzis. Nordegren will inhabit the completed home with her two infant children. After the divorce, Nordegren was given full custody of Sam and Charlie, the daughter and son she had with Tiger Woods.

Even the most casual follower of entertainment news is plenty aware that celebrities are quite fond of exchanging real estate amongst themselves. Let’s take a look at some recent celebrity house exchanges.

First up are Olivia Wilde and the Jonas brothers. Wilde, who recently filed for divorce from her husband of eight years, bought the house previously inhabited by the three brothers. Olivia has been heard complaining of an inextricable aura of a commitment to purity — a “no sex hex” — left behind by the young singers. Although the brothers most likely did not wish to leave that behind when they moved out, they did make sure to provide their home’s subsequent owner with cardboard cut-outs of themselves (life-size).

Peter Facinelli, the actor who gives life to Carlisle Cullen in the “Twilight” franchise, and who’s also married to Jennie Garth (“What I like about You” and “Beverley Hills 90210), lived with his family in what was once the childhood home of the late John Ritter. The home is in a gated community and comprises, in total, 8,416 square feet. That square footage is enough for six bedrooms, nearly eight bathrooms, an outdoor kitchen, a safe room, and a gym. The Facinelli-Garths, who bought the home from John Ritter’s father, Tex Ritter, put the home on the market last year.

It was only back in 2003 that Charlize Theron and Stuart Townsend paid $3.5 million to fellow actor Steven Weber for a 2,100-square foot beachfront home. Charlize and Stuart have since divorced and their former love nest (it only had three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms) now belongs to Ryan Murphy, the creator of “Glee.” Murphy paid approximately $6.5 million for the property.

Over in the Hollywood Hills, what used to be Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor’s home now belongs to Jason Statham. Statham paid $11.5 million for his new digs and got 10 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms in return. The Mediterranean-style home was first bought by the Stillers in 1999 for about $1.8 million. As is, the home today has a guest house, an outdoor dining room, and a pool.

The list of celebrity home exchanges goes on and on.

Images of Tiger Woods’ practice complex have been making the online rounds, and real estate commentators have been breathlessly exalting all the visible amenities. Of course a luxuriously greeny — there are reports of there being “different greens set for different winds” — practice space would be the least one would expect from a champion golfer who’s also, according the meticulous number-crunchers of Forbes, the highest paid athlete in the world (fellow American Kobe Bryant is number two). With practically billions to burn, who wouldn’t go all out? In fact, the practice area consists of four greens and is part of his Florida home, a property whose estimated value is $55 million.

But what’s really captivated the audience currently salivating over the pictures of neatly trimmed Florida grass is that they promise a Tiger who’s getting back into golf-championship-winning shape. It seems Tiger has been missed by the sports spectators, though the gossip readers have been given plenty to chew on since Tiger began his various streaks of necessary withdrawals from the game.

Woods hasn’t won a golf title since the car crash and domestic scandal that unsettled Americans’ Thanksgiving-leftover dinners in the fall of 2009. Almost two years and a very public divorce later, Tiger today is over in Akron, Ohio, participating in the second round of the W.G.C. Bridgestone Invitational; the fine lawns of Firestone Country Club are providing the hole-y green.

The last time Woods made an appearance here he was still ranked number one in the world. This past May, Tiger was forced to walk away from the 9th hole of the Players Championship because of painful injuries he had previously sustained to his Achilles’ tendon and left knee. Bridgestone represents Tiger’s reemergence since that painful 9th hole.

During the current Akron swinging, Tiger is competing against his good friend Darren Clarke. Also present is Steve Williams, Wood’s former caddie; the two parted ways earlier this summer. Williams was groomsman at Tiger’s wedding to Elin Nordegren and Tiger returned the favor during Williams’ own 2005 entry into spouse-hood. Williams has not been quiet about his displeasure at the turn things took. Since being fired by Woods, he’s openly said that he feels like he’s wasted his time for the last two years. At least Elin was not also present.