Check out this cool slide show.  8 Ugly, but cool homes.  Which is your favorite?  I gotta say, I like the House that Rocks, but not House on the Rock.

8 Ugly Houses We Love

US Home Buying Season Finally Signaling a Recovery.

Here's a great article from the New York Times about the Housing Recovery, which actually does seem to be happening.  I have had several new buyers pop up in the past two weeks, so that shows a strong signal.

US Home Buying Season Finally Signaling a Recovery

Spring Cleaning the Anti-Martha Way

Kind of a funny article, but there are great tips in the link at the end.  Check it out.

Spring Cleaning the Anti-Martha Way

For the record, we love Martha Stewart. She has elevated housekeeping to high art, which protects home values. Martha’s taught us the devil is in the details, and that even mundane chores can be tackled with grace, diligence, and elbow-high rubber gloves.  That said, spring is here, and cleaning is required. But who’s got the time or energy to rip apart every square inch of the house? When we saw a Martha blog that suggested cleaning our kitchen range in only 22 steps, we threw in the towel and shouted, “Get real!”

Then, we created our Anti-Martha Stewart Spring Cleaning Guide, acknowledging that top-to-bottom cleaning is a good idea, but nobody’s idea of a good time.  Except for Martha. Almost 30 years ago, when I was a cub reporter in Westport, Conn., I interviewed Martha at her Turkey Hill estate there. Then, she was a fabulous local caterer about to hit the big time with her book, “Entertaining.” She gave me a tour of her place — the Federal-style house, glorious gardens, chicken coop — and was appalled to hear I had never eaten an egg fresh from a chicken’s butt.  She straightaway gathered powder blue eggs with brown spots, walked them back to the best-appointed kitchen I’d ever seen, and whipped up the best omelet I’d ever eaten. Lesson learned: Effort bears fruit (or eggs). 

But days have only 24 hours, and work, family, and the tyranny of getting in 10,000 steps makes spring cleaning Martha-style merely a fantasy for most of us. So, we created our own get-real guide. Our guide is all about time-savers and corner-cutters. Our advice:
Don’t scrub when a good soak will do.

Take small bites out of large tasks: If you live long enough, you’ll get it clean.

Invest in white vinegar companies, because vinegar is the one cleaner you can’t do without.

If a machine can clean it better and faster, buy it or rent it.

But seriously, folks. Here’s a little preview of our guide.

Shower heads: A warm white vinegar bath will get rid of mineral deposits.

Windows: Use coffee filters or microfiber cloths instead of paper towels to wash windows and avoid streaks.

Patio furniture: Vacuum wicker furniture with an upholstery attachment.

Primo declutter tip: Get rid of “fat clothes” first, which make you feel bad about your body.

Hey, we’ve got a million of these. Martha, we’re sure, is shaking her head in dismay. But we’re sure our guide will help you get clean in spring and still have time to enjoy the season.  And that’s a good thing.

Check out the this link for more details Spring Cleaning 101 from HouseLogic.com

Another bright spot in the real estate news.  This is particularly good news for vacation destinations, such as Florida or Arizona. 

Investment and Vacation Home Sales Jump

Sales of investment and vacation homes accounted for 38 percent of all home sales last year, the highest level since 2005, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) 2012 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey. Investment sales spiked 64.5 percent to 1.23 million in 2011 from 749,000 in 2010. Vacation home sales rose 7.0 percent to 502,000 from 469,000 the year earlier. Investment homes accounted for 27 percent of all transactions last year, up from 17 percent in 2010, while vacation homes made up 11 percent of all transactions in 2011, up slightly from the 10 percent recorded in 2010.

The boom in investment purchases can be attributed largely to cash buyers, according to NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. Last year 49 percent of investment buyers and 42 percent of vacation-home buyers paid in cash. “During the past year investors have been swooping into the market to take advantage of bargain home prices,” he says. “Rising rental income easily beat cash sitting in banks as an added inducement. In addition, 41 percent of investment buyers purchased more than one property.”

Half of all investment home purchases last year were distressed properties, as were 39 percent of vacation home sales. The median price of an investment home sold last year was $100,000, up 6.4 percent from 2010. But vacation home prices plunged 19.1 percent to $121,300 in 2011 from $150,000 the year earlier. NAR finds that half of all investment buyers purchased their properties to generate rental income, while 34 percent wanted to diversify their investments.

It's been a long time since our inventory level was this low.  Only a little over 17,000 listings on the market in the Twin Cities.  I can't believe I am saying this, but we need more listings.  Thinking of selling???

Weekly Market Activity Report
The last time you were at the doctor, your vital signs were checked – heart rate, pulse, temperature and blood pressure. Progress was documented and valuable insights were gained, whether it was a routine visit or one of many checks during an extended hospital stay. The housing market has been in and out of intensive care for the past several years. Monitoring vitals matters. The pulse of today's market indicates that we may be getting ready to leave the ICU. So if you could just please pull up your sleeve, let's check your blood pressure.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending March 24:
• New Listings increased 2.2% to 1,414
• Pending Sales increased 30.2% to 1,052
• Inventory decreased 27.3% to 17,193