As I watched my turn get closer and closer to hosting the [Carnival of Real Estate](http://www.carnivalofrealestate.com), I thought it was amazing how much great content is being pushed into the public domain every week through the carnival. In fact, carnival participants simply _ooze_ creativity and new ideas. Simply look at [last week’s carnival post at BlueRoof.com Blog](http://blueroof.wordpress.com/2006/09/18/the-carnival-of-real-estate-at-blueroof-blog/) to get an idea of what I mean.

I started getting post submissions early last week and by Sunday I had a lot of reading to do. Although the carnival hosts are expected to post only their favorites, I thought to myself, how can I do that? So I decided to provide a top ten list and then everyone else. I excluded a few get rich quick posts and those who seemed to be more interested in selling something or extra posts from those who submitted more than one.

I am finding that some of the most active and insightful posts this week have been provided by _real estate brokers_. Its interesting to me because its been my impression that real estate brokers were somewhat late to blogosphere party as a profession but now they really _get it_ and are rising in numbers quickly.

So its no wonder there was a lot of discussion about Redfin this week. I think that a weaker housing market sort of forces the real estate brokerage community to rethink the status quo. Thats really refreshing and I found myself adding links to my blogroll.

The Matrix Top 10 List

1. [Everybody’s Going Local [Future of Real Estate Marketing]](http://www.futureofrealestatemarketing.com/everybodys-going-local/). Joel Burslem provides a very insightful look at the trend toward local web sites to deliver real estate related information.
2. [What Housing Bubble? [The Property Monger]](http://www.spotlightre.com/blog/?p=57) looks closely at population trends.
3. [16 Words or Less [Agent CEO]](http://agentceo.blogspot.com/2006/09/16-words-or-less.html) reminded me of the axiom _less is more_. I tend to fail miserably being concise but if someone leaves me a voicemail longer than 16 seconds, I tend to delete it.
4. [Crackdown on Relisting Homes [Altos Research]](http://www.altosresearch.com/blog/archives/136-Crackdown-on-Relisting-Homes.html). Altos crunches the numbers. Relisting is simply wrong.

5. [Kicking the Tires on Housing Futures as a Predictive Tool [True Gotham]](http://www.truegotham.com/archives/market-insight-kicking-the-tires-on-housing-futures-as-a-predictive-tool.html). Doug Heddings deals with one of my favorite topics, housing futures.

6. [Google and Zillow [Real Central VA]](http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/09/21/google-and-zillow/). Jim Duncan tells us that broker _marketing will become less and less a component of a Realtor’s core competency. Representation will._
7. [Cease and Desist [Real Estate 2.X]](http://realestate20.wordpress.com/2006/09/18/cease-and-desist/) gives us a good chuckle and a whole new way to name our blogs.

8. [Dual Agency: Using the Seller’s Agent as Your Buyer’s Agent [Searchlight Crusade]](http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/posts/1156734778.shtml) addresses awkwardness and multiple loyalties which are commonplace.

9. [Would the Founding Fathers Have Founded an MLS? [Charlottesville Area Real Estate Blog]](http://www.cvillearearealestate.com/2006/09/httpwwwbloodhou.html) concludes that restrictions on listings are better than an open system.

10. [For real estate promotion, the business card form factor is a tiny little workhorse [Bloodhound]](http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=350). Glenn says its all in the cards.

Here are the rest of the posts submitted in no particular order but are all a good read:

Market discussion (surprisingly quiet this week)

* [Trulia Hardball: Predictions for the August Existing Home Sales Data [Trulia Blog]](http://www.truliablog.com/?p=39). Including my picture in a post is simply a guaranteed inclusion in the carnival. Trulia makes several people go out on a limb on Monday when NAR releases its existing home sale stats, myself included.
* [Market Microbursts [LWilliamLosapio.com]](http://www.lwilliamlosapio.com/?page_id=29) who correlates the housing market to a pilot dealing with windshear.

Raising the bar on the real estate brokerage profession:

* [Real Estate reform [Phoenix Arizona Real Estate Blog]](http://jdalton.realtownblogs.com/general-real-estate/real-estate-reform/): Jonathan Dalton laments that _because if the public is willing to continue supporting real estate agents who either don’t have the knowledge, the time or the desire to truly learn how to do this business right and protect their clients’ best interest, then the debate is just so much hand-wringing among the rest of us who can’t understand why these other agents were selected in the first place._
* [It is Past Time to Raise the Bar! [The Phoenix Real Estate Guy]](http://www.buygilberthomes.com/it-is-past-time-to-raise-the-bar/). He feels that one of the biggest challenge in the industry to having experienced agents mentor those new to the profession.
* [Room for Improvement [Homethinking]](http://blog.homethinking.com/2006/09/20/room-for-improvement/) There are many ways to rank Realtors. How about by what homeowners have to say about them?
* [How real estate is like football [John Novak]](http://activerain.com/blogsview/How-real-estate-is-like-football?9002) makes the argument that customers don’t understand alll the preparation that goes into a real estate transaction. The pros make it look easy but its not. (note: I wish MSU had prepared more for Notre Dame last Saturday)
* [MLS discussion [MOCO Real Estate News]](http://mocoreal.blogspot.com/2006/09/mls-discussion.html) starts up a discussion about what should be considered when starting up an MLS from scratch.
* [Welcome to Real Estate, Meet your Frienemy [Laguna Niguel Real Estate]](http://activerain.com/blogsview/Welcome-to-Real-Estate-Meet-your-Frienemy?9513) wonders whether brokers talk about themselves too much and fail to talk up their property. An excellent point.

Broker ethics and “get rich quick” schemes

* [Sunday…Is A Good God Day…For Hell…Hello…Roar! [“The Lovely Wifes” Blog….Kum La Ka Lakka]](http://activerain.com/blogsview/Sunday-Is-A-Good-God-Day-For-Hell-Hello-Roar-?8877) who tells us 3 ways to say Hell-O! In other words, no bad deed goes unpunished. (The wife speaks…)
* [The sharks have had their fill [Broker Bryant’s Real Estate Ramblings]](http://activerain.com/blogsview/The-sharks-have-had-their-fill-?10137) He paints the picture using the characters Mr. Ive B. Screwed, WeRipOff, GetRichToday, LLC to illustrate how some unscrupulous characters took advantage of naive investors who had no business investing. (The husband speaks…)
* [BREAKING NEWS: Pinnacle Development Partners LLC Under Investigation [Bigger Pockets]](http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2006/09/21/breaking-news-pinnacle-development-partners-llc-under-investigation/) for what was described as a ponzi scheme to investors. No shortage of this sort of thing.

Mortgages and Refi Strategies

* [What do Mortgage Underwriters do? [Pacesetter]](http://blog.pacesettermortgage.com/2006/09/what_do_mortgag.html). David Porter answers the questions all of us have been wondering during the housing boom.
* [Different Ways For A Busted Refinancing Plan [My 1st Million At 33]](http://www.1stmillionat33.com/2006/09/different-ways-for-a-busted-refinancing-plan/). Frugal brings bad news to over-leveraged real estate investors hoping to refi their way out of trouble.
* [Avoiding an Expensive Mortgage Mistake [My Wealth Builder]](http://my-wealth-builder.blogspot.com/2006/09/avoiding-expensive-mortgage-mistake.html). Super saver tells us that if we can’t afford a house with a fixed rate mortgage, then we better buy a smaller one.

New brokerage business models

* [Real Estate 2.0 â„¢ [360 Digest]](http://360digest.com/2006/09/19/real-estate-20-tm/) This poster says that Redfin using copyrighted material without permission all the time and they do not have a registered trademark on the term “Real Estate 2.0” according to our friends at [Sellsius](http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/?p=2100)
* [Let The Market Decide [Geri’s Blog]](http://activerain.com/blogsview/Let-The-Market-Decide?9567) tells us _We lose so much when we operate from a position of fear._ New brokerage services like Redfin will succeed or fail based on how the consumers accepts it, not on what the brokerage community thinks.
* [Book Report: “An Army of Davids” [Web 2.0 For Real Estate Pros]](http://www.mlpodcast.com/blog/2006/09/book-report-army-of-davids.html) gives us a workable definition from decidedly fuzzy real estate terms that refer to the future of real estate.

Buyer and seller advice

* [Dear Mr & Mrs Seller, Here is what you need to do [miOaklandCounty]](http://mioaklandcounty.com/blog/2006/09/17/dear-mr-mrs-seller-here-is-what-you-need-to-do/) provides a laundry list of old school and new school advice for home sellers.
* [It’s Best To Buy And Sell In The Same Market [Mitchell’s Manhattan Blog Estate]](http://activerain.com/blogsview/It-s-Best-To-Buy-And-Sell-In-The-Same-Market?9471) who tells us that if you buy and sell in the same market, it all comes out in the wash.
* [Our New Home That Looks Old [TheLandlordBlog.com]](http://www.thelandlordblog.com/2006/09/22/our-new-home-that-looks-old/). Apparently, you _get what you get._

Defies categorization

* [50. Blog Marathon: 50 Blog Posts in One Day [Sellsius]](http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/?p=2133) I am starting to wonder if these guys ever sleep?
* [Sustainability is Good Business: Obstacles to Green Building Progress [Jetson Green]](http://jetsongreen.typepad.com/jetson_green/2006/09/sustainability_.html) lays out the argument that going green is good business because green buildings are more efficient.
* [Florida Losing Appeal [Homeowners Insurance Lowdown]](http://www.homeownersinsurancelowdown.com/2006/06/florida_losing_.html) Hurricanes are driving up or eliminating accessibility to homeowners insurance which will hurt Florida as a retirement destimation.
* [Creating Intentional Communities in Retirement [Queercents]](http://www.queercents.com/2006/09/20/creating-intentional-communities-in-retirement/) addresses the retirement issue with a housing model that emphasizes community life.
* [The Shire in Bend, OR [Zillow]](http://www.zillowblog.com/zillow_blog/2006/09/the_shire_in_be.html) goes _Lord of The Rings_ on us.

Thanks to all of those who submitted posts. Great stuff. Don’t forget to check out [YoChicago](http://yochicago.com/), next week’s host for the Carnival of Real Estate.

Its now 10:30pm EST on Sunday. I’ve got to get some sleep – going to be on [CNBC’s Morning Call](http://moneycentral.msn.com/Content/CNBCTV/TV_Info/middaycall.asp) live at about 10:15am on Monday for 5 minutes with another guest. Should be fun.