Kenneth Harney, columnist for RealtyTimes, wrote an interesting article last week that asked a simple question: “Is it a housing bust or a media-driven panic?”

We have re-published the entire article here for your convenience.

Please visit RealtyTimes for more in-depth and thought-provoking articles on the real estate industry.

Economists Beginning to Challenge Media’s Negative Drumbeat on Housing
by Kenneth R. Harney

Is it a housing bust or a media-driven panic? Mike Moran, chief economist for Wall Street’s Daiwa Securities America, Inc., says he’s surprised that virtually nobody has challenged the constant drumbeat of negative headlines and TV news warnings of imminent crashes and home price meltdowns.

Born Again Web Site, Day 1 By: Living In Carver County

We were lucky enough to get to announce it on a live radio interview on KTLK’s “CTX Home & Wealth Show”.(100.3 FM) Hopefully it was informative & somewhat entertaining.

The crew there does a great job & the Clear Channel studio was amazingly nice.

Thanks for the opportunity.

Greg Anderson
P.S. Also, today is official kick off of the “LivingInCarverCounty.com” new & improved community web site.

In the competitive real estate market here in Carver County, there is more and more pressure for increasing creative marketing attempts to lure builder prospects. Developer Arnie Esterbrooks of Developer’s Resource hosted an event that deserves some serious “kudos.”

Last Saturday, in the new Forest Hills neighborhood in Watertown, MN, Arnie hired a helicopter to give rides to attendees of the Watertown festival, Rails to Trails. The rides lifted off from a blacktop section of the neighborhood, flew riders downtown and circled back to the neighborhood — a ride lasting about 4-5 minutes. The ‘copter ran steady from 8:30 AM until after 5:00 PM.

Todd Bjerstedt, owner of Todd Allen Homes Inc., — with offices in Woodbury, MN & Hudson, WI — is a Past President of the BATC (Builder’s Association of the Twin Cities). Todd will discuss home building, the shape of Metro construction & key things to look for when selecting a builder. The link to the BATC web site Todd mentions on the show is: www.batconline.org/

Every week registered broker members of the MAAR get an update on the current state of the market. This week’s report from Mark Allen, CEO of the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS® indicates that — according the RMLS & Board statistics — it is still a “Buyers market.” Read what it says below: