Carnival of Real Estate - January 5th, 2009 Edition

Welcome to the January 5, 2009 edition of the Carnival of Real Estate.  This is the holiday edition of CoRE and the first of 2009.  And here is to hoping 2009 is better than 2008 when it comes to real estate.

Thanks to everyone that submitted an article.  All 23 posts are listed below but I wanted to point out several that stood out as excellent posts either for their style, subject matter or the overall impression it made on me as I made my way through this weeks Carnival of Real Estate.

Most Outstanding Post - Overall

Jay Thompson's post regarding the foreclosure market in Phoenix on his blog The Phoenix Rea Estate Guy is, in my opinion, a great blog post.  Anyone who has been blogging or reading blogs about real estate has more than likely read Jay's excellent work and once again he doesn't disappoint.  His posts are engaging, informative, stylish and well written (not to mention grammatically correct and free of spelling errors).  His blog is one that other agents who are blogging or thinking about blogging would be wise to emulate.  Thanks for the post, Jay.

Best Post about a Blog Writing Tip

After several years of writing posts, I am always on the lookout for ideas to write posts that are different than the normal 300 word post with a couple of graphics.  And Jim Reppond writes an excellent post called Adding Google Earth Fly-throughs to your Real Estate videos on his blog The Seattle Specialist.  In his words it is "A comprehensive overview of why using Google Earth in your real estate videos can be worthwhile. Tips and tricks with examples show the potential of this cool software tool."

Most Uplifting Blog Post

With the economy the way it is and the real estate market several years into a downturn, it is sometimes hard to focus on the positive but Karen Goodman's post entitled 2009 Resolutions to Build a Better Community posted at Arch City Homes, gives us all something positive to shoot for.

Best Holiday Post

Being that it was the holidays, I felt it appropriate to point out the best holiday blog post written by Diane Tuman called Neighborhoods with Extreme Holiday Lights posted at Zillow Blog. It also a good example of how to incorporate video in a blog post.

Honorable Mentions

And here are some honorable mentions about some interesting topics:

Dan Melson presents The Hope (Dashed) For Homeowners Program posted at Searchlight Crusade.

JCL presents Househunting For Investment Properties posted at The Real Estate Investing Journey, saying, "First of a two part series on finding and acquiring investment houses. A good guide on how to look at multiple houses and avoid burnout."

Tommy Unger presents Can MLSs help Fannie Mae help the market? posted at GeekEstate Blog.

And here is a list of all the other post this week on the Carnival of Real Estate.  They are all worth reading if you get a chance.  I did and I am better for it.  Thanks again to everyone for participating.

nickel presents Checking Out Current Mortgage Refinance Rates posted at fivecentnickel.com.

David Israel presents Chattanooga Real Estate Debate - Paint vs. Wallpaper posted at Scenic City Scoop Real Estate Blog.

Investing

 

Kathy Torline presents 3 Things to know about foreclosure homes for sale posted at

Colorado Springs Vintage Homes Blog

Jim presents Researching A Refinance posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Julie Broad presents Is Now a Good Time to Buy Real Estate posted at Rev N You with Real Estate, saying, "Thanks for hosting the first CoRE of 2009!"

real estate market

William Doom presents Why You Should Rent And Pay My Mortgage | Your Mortgage Planner 2.0 Blog posted at Your Mortgage Planner 2.0 Blog� Your Mortgage Planner 2.0 Blog, saying, "The numbers are staggering if you look at it this way. If you are paying $1,100 per month for an apartment, and you know your rent will increase 3% every year, then over the next five years you will pay your landlord $72,901. This does not included deposits and misc rental fees. Either way, you gain no equity by shelling out this monthly housing expense and you certainly won’t benefit when the property value goes up!"

Wenchypoo presents Santa, All I Want for Christmas is a Decent-Sized, Decent-Priced House posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket.

Joe Manausa presents REAL ESTATE TRENDS WORTH WATCHING | Tallahassee Real Estate Blog posted at Tallahassee Real Estate Blog, saying, "The MLS is the only source of information that directly ties supply to demand, so I find that it is important to keep an eye on this set of information on a daily basis. The most important information is new listings, new sales, new failures, and new pendings (homes put under contract), and track these as an “average” or trend over time."

Handy Saputra presents How to Get a Government Home Loan with Low Income posted at Home Loan and Mortgage Info, saying, "The federal government wants to help you buy a home. They see it as a way to improve the economy, provide a stable tax base, and help grow communities. To encourage homeownership, the federal government backs loans for those who might have trouble qualifying for a conventional loan."

Patrick Duffy presents New Year's Resolution #1: A Respect for the Truth posted at Housing Chronicles.

Lisa Collins presents Refinancing Your Mortgage posted at Toronto Real Estate-The T.O. Guide.

Raymond presents My Stock Market and Real Estate Predictions For Year 2009 posted at Money Blue Book.

Ben Roberts presents Train Wreck Real Estate: How are Kids Being Affected? posted at Exit Real Estate 540, saying, "Wanted to touch on a subject most people seem to ignore..."

tony presents How much equity do I have in my house posted at Bad Credit Advisor.

The Smarter Wallet presents Winterizing Your Home: Do's and Don'ts posted at The Smarter Wallet.

real estate professionals

Thea Agnew presents Is Your Client An “Orphan Client”? | Last Train To Clarksville posted at Last Train To Clarksville.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of real estate using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Comments

[Jim Reppond]

Thanks so much for the kind words. Looks like there were lots of great blogs submitted!

[Jay Thompson]

Thanks for the kind words Tony! It's an honor to be selected "Most Outstanding Post Overall"!

Nice job hosting, and there were some great entries.

[Diane Tuman]

Hey Tony: Thanks for the acknowledgment of the best holiday post. It is amazing what people do to dress their homes up for the holidays -- totally nuts, I say!

[Tony Arko]

Jim, Jay and Diane, you are all welcome and Happy New Year. I hope this gets you going in the right direction for 2009.

[Karen Goodman]

I'm glad you liked my 2009 resolutions post. Thanks for singling it out as one of the top posts.

[YourMortgagePlanner]

Great way to start the New Year, Best Carnival of Real Estate Blog Edition so far this year...

[The Smarter Wallet]

Thanks for such an informative carnival. I like how meaty this real estate carnival edition is!

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[Claudia Gonella]

Real estate bloggers - we’re hosting the upcoming CORE publishing on Monday 2nd Feb 2009. Please submit your best posts.

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