Cue the trumpets and beat the drums ... the Arizona Republic today announced that their real estate reporter, Catherine Reagor, will have her own Arizona Real Estate blog.

From what I can see, she's actually had the blog for some time, which means those of us practicting real estate have had more time (or topics or inspiration or insight ... take your pick) to write about real estate than those who are paid to cover the real estate market for a living.

I believe that would be an excellent working definition of irony.

(c) Jonathan Dalton, 2006 / Jonathan Dalton's Arizona Homes

It's awfully early so I'll skip the prologue and get right into this week's reading list:

From my Active Rain blog (which I of course recommend putting in your RSS viewers), I wrote a brief story about my own encounters with affordability in housing, before I became a real estate agent.

Over on the Blooghound Blog, Greg Swann has provided the September absorption rate figures for the entire ARMLS - a little different than what I've been tracking (and even sometimes posting - have to get it updated today), but good to see someone else is watching the trend the same way I am versus listening to the bubblers.

On the Rain City Guide, Ardell gives a teaser on her own thoughts about the blogospheric debate over what buyers' agents charge their clients, or if buyers really are paying their commissions in their sales price after all.

Last week's Carnival of Real Estate led us to YoChicago - if there's anything you want to know about what's going in the Windy City, it's most likely here.

Jay Thompson on his blog answers a question posed on Active Rain - what would you like to see in the ultimate real estate portal? (Personally, I think Dalton's AZ Homes is a fine start but I might be biased.)

If you read anything about real estate you've most likely heard about the Department of Justice's complaint against NAR. It's spun off some interesting debates, including several that have nothing to do with the issue at hand. Here's the actual complaint, if you're curious.

Sellsius has added to their list of "unzillowables" this week - properties with characteristics that make it impossible for Zillow to determine the value. We have a few such items in the Valley as well.

And last but absolutely not least, Pittsburgh Homes Daily compiled a list of the top 500 real estate blogs organized by state. We're happy to say we made the list. If this doesn't overload your RSS viewer, nothing will.

Have a great weekend everybody!

(c) Jonathan Dalton, 2006 / Jonathan Daltons Arizona Homes

Last week I introduced a weekly reading list, with the idea coming courtesy of Jay Thompson at Century 21 Aware over in the East Valley. Another excellent way of reading more about the wonderful world of real estate is to check out the weekly "Carnival of Real Estate."

Each week a different host blog accepts submissions from different real estate bloggers and then, presumably after a few stiff drinks, reads all of the entries to cull the top 10 - 20. These "best of the best" then are listed on a post added to the host site Monday morning. Carnivals take place all the time and in all different subject areas ... you can see a few in the red box on the right-hand side of this page.

So what's the point? For those of us participating, it's added readership. Blogs are the ultimate in viral marketing, where word-of-mouth carries the day. You read the blog, then you (hopefully) tell a friend and they tell a friend and they fell a friend and soon I'm seeing comments from people other than my wife and dog. :-)

The impact's even greater for the hosts of the carnival, as suddenly readers who may not otherwise check out your blog will stop in if only to see if their post made the cut for the top 20.

Those simply reading the carnivals posts also benefit in that you get different perspectives on topics impacting the world of real estate. Some may seem mundane, some may seem pointless, but if you own or house or hope to do so (which includes most of us) then there's almost certainly a topic for you.

To check out the most recent carnival, which ended on Sunday, you can click on the "carnival of real estate" link over on the right side of this page. That entry has links to past carnivals and soon you'll have more to read than you ever wanted.

(c) Jonathan Dalton, 2006 / Jonathan Dalton's Arizona Homes

Several blogs I've visited recently have posted weekend reading lists ... a chance for you to hear what some others in the industry have to say about topics impacting both you the consumer and the industry as a whole rather than just listening to me all the time. Here's the best of what I've found:

Jay Thompson of CENTURY 21 Aware in Gilbert argued for increasing the standards to become licensed.  For a countering viewpoint, you can visit Greg Swann's argument against licensing in general.

If you've got some serious time on your hands, sellsius put together a posting marathan ... 50 posts in one day. (And you thought I was long-winded.)

Seattle's RainCityGuide reviewed recent updates to Zillow, including the addition of heat maps. Zillow has been a lightning rod in the real estate blogosphere ... some agents are adamantly anti-Zillow while others, including me, have no problem with Zillow if used in moderation and with proper expectations already set. Kinda like the green apple drinks we had at my in-laws' birthday lunch this past weekend.

Oh, and if you want another opinion on Zillow, you can check Joshua Plummer's recent entry on Active Rain.

BlogArizona discussed a recently-passed law changing Arizona's disclosure requirements, allowing agents and owners to shunt responsibility for many types of disclosures onto a third party.

If you didn't see my post on Active Rain comparing two gas stations' price war to competitive pricing in real estate, you can check it out here.

That's it from here ... market stats will be up Sunday, both for this week and for last (unless I get some free time this afternoon to make up for what I missed last week.

For those so celebrating, L'Shanah Tovah Tikateivu. Happy a happy and healty New Year, my meshpuchah.

(c) Jonathan Dalton, 2006 / Jonathan Dalton's Arizona Homes