Well this is my first time hosting a blog carnival and I have a newfound respect for those that have come before me.  I had a total of 22 articles submitted and I toiled through the submissions to find the ones that I felt were the best written and most informative.

Word of warning to bloggers: several of the submissions I received had unresponsive servers or incorrect URLs…. I tried what I could to find the articles but PLEASE check your blogs for availability and double-check your URLs before you submit them.

This week’s best post prize goes to Kris Berg’s post on Bloodhound Blog for her article: “The Plastic Pig (and How to Pick Your Agent).”  I too am very frustrated with some agent’s inability to service their clients properly and/or their inability to do their job impacting the ability to do yours.

The runners-up include:

Bad Credit Advisor’s contrarian view on the recovering real estate market: “The housing bubble – why I think the real estate bubble is here and going to get uglier”  While I disagree on the conclusions that are offered, it is a good review of the many challenges in our market.

Teresa Boardman, a fellow Twin Cities REALTOR who I have never met but have read many of her articles, presents Keeping Local Real Estate, Well… Local posted at Real Estate Tomato.  You take St. Paul and the East Side, I’ll take Minneapolis and West.  Together we will rule the Twin Cities Blogosphere (muhhahahaaha)

Toby Boyce presents Dear Ms. Seller: Why Would You Sign a Six-Month Contract? posted at Sadie’s Take on Delaware Ohio.  This is a great reminder for agents: the goal is not to get a seller under contract until the end of time, the goal is to sell their home.  If you do everything you can and are truly striving to sell their home, if you can’t do it in 90 days you should be able to establish their trust to get a renewal at that point.  If you can’t do you really want to work with a pissed off seller anyway?

Michael Price presents Mike’s Corner Web 2.0 For Real Estate Pros: How Podcasting Impacts Local Search Relevancy posted at Mike’s Corner Web 2.0 For Real Estate Pros.  Podcasting is a growing force, Mike explains how to work it to your advantage.

Sagar Satapathy presents No Easy Answers To Florida’s Pains posted at Homeowners Insurance Lowdown.  Up here in Minnesota, we have cold and an occasional tornado that may affect 100-200 homeowners a time but we do not have earthquakes or hurricanes… regional insurance issues should be solved regionally… don’t make me pay for your beachfront property!

Athol Kay presents We Can Always Reduce the Price Later posted at The Real Estate Guide. Price it right the first time, every time!

Erik Hersman presents Online Video in the Real Estate Industry posted at Realty Thoughts.  Video can convey more than pictures or text… when it’s done right.  Erik reviews a few different options for agents.

Drew Meyers from Zillow has a review on another new consumer-focused web site on house price analysis, HouseMath 2.0 in the article: “How Much Does Purchasing a House Really Cost?”

Cliff Jacobson presents A Letter From Real Estate 3.0: AmaZoogleBayMart posted at WebHomeUSABlog.  This is a futuristic and what many agents would call “Doomsday” scenario.  Interesting read.

Melanie Narducci presents A Picture’s worth a thousand words, but it’s all in how we say it posted at Condocontessa San Francisco Real Estate.  Yes, some developer sites are way too flashy and miss the point of view of the consumer completely.  Argh.