"South Florida," he said, "is working off of a totally new economic model than any of us have ever experienced in the past" according to a realtor who predicted that a land shortage will support higher prices indefinitely."

Within a month of putting her two-bedroom house in San Francisco on the market recently, homeowner Linda Gao had five offers, each one above her asking price of $699,000. So before accepting the most-attractive bid, she threw in an extra condition: If you want to buy my house, you have to feed the squirrels.

Two weeks later, she and the buyer hammered out a contract that included feeding the backyard wildlife, which Ms. Gao has done three times a week for the past two years. "I don't think it matters if it's a buyer's market or a seller's market," Ms. Gao says. "Anyone with a good heart would feed them."

...

Indeed, when Susan Butler was negotiating to buy Ms. Gao's San Francisco property, she was resigned to the feeding schedule. "At that point, I said, 'Yeah, what the hell, I'll feed the squirrels,'" she said. She signed a contract in April, paying $815,000 -- or $116,000 over the asking price. Will Ms. Butler actually feed her new furry friends? "Probably not," says the college administrator. "I don't want to encourage other rodents."

I was a brand-new investor. I thought I was doing the right thing, but it looks like I lost everything. My wife is mad at me.

I think what may happen -- I don't think you'll see a reduction in [intangible] value; let's put it that way. Value and price are different things. You probably won't see a reduction in value, but maybe in prices, meaning you can pay less but it's worth more.

Having followed this blog a couple weeks now, I think the old saying should be amended to: "Death, taxes, and Realtors saying now is the time to buy."

I'm so mad at my neighbor. I bought my new home here in Ashburn last summer and plan to sell it next year (after holding two years to avoid taxes) to make a nice return on my investment. The problem is my neighbor is trying to sell his house (very similar to mine) right now and he keeps lowering his asking price. Each time he lowers his price, I see my potential profits next year getting squashed. Doesn't he realize he's hurting the comps for all of his neighbors by doing this? I don't think he is acting very "neighborly" by doing this. I want to say something to him and tell him he should stop putting his interests ahead of his neighbors. It's people like him who are ruining the market for the rest of us. If he would just refuse to lower his price, we could maintain our comps and everyone would benefit. What can I do to stop him?

The increase in housing inventory might help push prices higher, said Marilyn Newell of the Platinum Group Realtors in the Springs and another Realtors Association board member. A surplus means buyers have more choices and homes on the market must be well-kept and competitively priced, she said. "Because we don't have as many buyers," Newell said, "they have the luxury of going with the home that is in perfect shape.

Perth couple Brian and Eileen Bowden are among thousands reaping the benefits of the state’s robust economy as they prepare to extract a $100,000 profit on their home in just six weeks. ‘The people who we bought this house from made $100,000 off us, so it’s a non-stop cycle,’ Mr Bowden said.

Available listings as of Aug. 1 totaled 9,555, up 68.9 percent from a year ago. `That's a big number,' said Portland economist Jerry Johnson.

"In Jackson [Wyoming], the market doesn’t really go down," said (realtor) Linda Walker. Broker Ryan Olsen agrees. "We are immune to the up and down treads that plague many real estate markets," he says. "Our real estate market is essentially quite 'bullet proof'!"

When buying, Miller also likes to strike quickly and he expects the same when he's selling. "I don't haggle much over the price," he admits. "I don't beat the owner up over one of the stove elements or something when I'm trying to buy a property. I'm trying to sell a condominium right now that will make me a $200,000 gain in 11 months and this buyer is dinking me around 'cause he thinks the roof might have to be replaced in a couple years. So he's gonna lose a fair deal there in the Village. Do you think I'm gonna replace the roof? If we were in a depressed market, maybe, but [I'm thinking] 'next!'"

Developer Cary Glickstein said last week he has canceled The Strand condo in downtown Delray Beach and returned $15 million in deposits. ... Another factor that ended the project: Glickstein's buyers were tired of the waiting game. The final straw was seeing one buyer, "near tears," come into the sales office, Glickstein said. The buyer had used his daughter's college tuition for his down payment.

Buyers bonuses [sic], price reduced, chance to win $25,000 - are these signs that Western Washington is becoming a buyer's market? ... "I would say it is a buyer's market with a very strong seller's influence," said realtor T.C. Hyatt, John L. Scott Real Estate.

Mozilo reached out to borrowers as part of a "little experiment" to understand the reasoning behind making only minimum payments on so-called pay-option loans, a practice that boosts the total amount due, the 67-year-old CEO told investors Wednesday in New York.

"What we're finding out is that they're pretty smart," Mozilo said. "It's like voters: Individually they're sort of idiots, but collectively they seem to make the right decisions."

Having depleted their savings to pay for this, they've had to seriously cut back on spending. They went without air conditioning this past summer, despite sweltering heat and the fact that Judy was eight months pregnant.

They've also put off fixing the brakes of their second car, which the mechanic says should be replaced soon. "We don't spend money on anything that isn't critical," says Judy. "Everything goes toward the mortgages."

Sara Babylon tried having open houses as a way to sell her Spanish Springs home for almost three months. But instead of a flood of interest, she barely had a trickle. `The last open house, not one person came by and I was like OK, that's it,' said Babylon."

"So Babylon decided to offer a free 1992 Jeep Wrangler with purchase at asking price.