Real Estate trend: Flat-rate option gains popularity (Springfield Business Journal)

Real Estate trend: Flat-rate option gains popularity (Springfield Business Journal)
The Springfield real estate industry has seen an influx of new agencies in the last few years, led by the so-called discount or fee-based brokerages that offer flat rate closing costs.

The 6 percent solution: Who needs a real estate agent? (The Arizona Republic)
Stan and Gloria Wakefield are no fools. They built their three-bedroom house 12 years ago in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., an oceanside resort community dotted with golf courses and picturesque inland waterways. The real estate market in the area, near Jacksonville, took off and the house, overlooking lagoons, rose in value to nearly $1 million. ''This house has appreciated almost obscenely,'' said

Real estate: When booms go bust... (CNN Money)
Across America, real-estate prices continue to confound the skeptics. Many Americans have come to think of their homes as rock-solid investments with little downside.