First things first, a sincere thanks to Drew Meyers and Mike Price for allowing 7DS the opportunity to host the Carnival of Real Estate, edition #172.

We received scores of exceptional submissions, and it was a challenge to narrow them down. We were supposed to select five but we chose 7...it just seemed appropriate considering we are the hosts :)

We've also included an "Honorable Mention" section, if the post was indeed worth mentioning.  Many thank you's to everyone who participated! 

And, without further ado...the winners are (in no particular order):  

Using Warren Buffett’s Principles to Invest in Real Estate  An educational post from Maclennan Investment Group Blog outlining how Warren Buffet has reached great heights in real estate investment. Insightful excerpts from letters and books..  

FHA Rulebook Changes : Higher Fees, Bigger Downpayments, And More Mortgage Insurance   This post from Dan Green (The Mortgage Reports) breaks down recent FHA changes to a granular level, explaining how these changes ultimately affect all those involved in the home buying process.

Surprise! Government Report on Negative Equity Gets it Wrong  You can't always rely on the newspaper and television for the facts. Altos Research outlines the reality of negative equity and its impact on consumers, mortgage professionals and real estate agents alike, with timely and detailed data. 

Image Problem: Real Estate  "Raising the Bar" - a recurrent theme that has been buzzing over the past months. This post by Diane Guercio  does an excellent job in outlining food for thought, possible solution and the challenges that remain. 

"Outside the Sessions" Inman Recap with Video  The team at SoftRealty did an phenomenal job in assembling this video post that includes live footage from Inman Connect NYC. If you weren't able to attend or want to see what you've missed, this post is for you. 

Outside.In Hyperlocal Search  Creating content is a common challenge for bloggers in the real estate industry and hyperlocal search has been the buzz over the past year.

SentriLock – An Example In How To Monitor Social Commentary In the world of immediate communication, lack of preparation can result in negative repercussions. This post by PowerSites illustrates a classic example of a crisis and why being one step ahead of the conversation is do or die. 

Honorable Mentions: 

Real Estate – FAQ Education  
What Are Commercial Real Estate Properties? Know your property types!- Commercial Bloggers

What is a Short Sale? At witty, well rounded explanation by- The Phoenix Real Estate Guy

Real Estate Pricing
Housing Prices Still Down: Predicting Home Price Trends Are we experiencing a false bottom in home prices? The Smarter Wallet  

Think You’ll Never Pay Full Price in this Market? Value vs. Price advice that applies to any market by The Housechick- Kelley Koehler

Marketing – Social Media
Facebook, Viral Marketing and Real Estate Stephen Fells talks about giving your marketing some virility!- PowerSites

10 Things That Need to Start or Stop in 2010 Stephen pokes fun at the not so obvious- PowerSites

Mortgage 
New FHA Rules! How Does this Effect Portland? Hyper-Local Mortgage content- Oregon Mortgage Blog

A Broad Rant About Guru Real Estate Investing Courses Bad advice gone worse.  Caveat Emptor!-  Life as Real Estate Investors

Imprudent Use of Leverage:  A Contrarian Opinion Zig when others Zag- The BiggerPockets Blog  

Real Estate Investment
The Emergence of the Post-Crisis International Real Estate Investor Interesting take on new international real estate best case investing practices.-  International Real Estate in Central America

How to Find the Money to Buy a Rental Property First Rental Property 

Real Esate - Miscellaneous
How to Break Free from Your Escrow Account Sound personal economic advice for the financially disciplined.- My Dollar Plan

Seattle House Hunting for New Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll Rolling out the Red Carpet for their new pro football coach.- Zillow Blog

5 Tips to Sell Any Home Fast Wisebread

Bad Score, Bad Score - What You Gonna Do? Sound personal credit insight.- Life Style Denver

Real Estate Humor- All by Stephen Fells at Powersites
Is There A Need To Identify Yourself As A Realtor After You Have Died?  

Celebrity Realtor and A Real Estate Version of “I’m Just a Gigolo” 

So, How Do We Fight Back? 

It's All in a Name. 

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