Wow, the Carnival of Real Estate turns 100 today! The CoRE was something the Zillow Blog team dreamed up back in the summer of 2006. We didn’t have very high expectations, but we threw it out there to see if the idea of a blog carnival in the real estate space would stick; it did. The CoRE has certainly been blessed with some fantastic hosts; from Jay Thompson’s poker theme to Athol Kay’s Top Ten Says of the Week to Active Rain’s “Top Ten Rides” to Maureen Francis’ Motor City Edition. I can’t write the 100th edition of the CoRE without thanking those who made it possible — thank you to all the bloggers who have supported the CoRE over the past two years; the wonderful hosts, those who submitted posts regularly (or irregularly), and anyone who has read one or more of the 100 carnivals. For the regular carnival followers, you’ll probably notice that the CoRE blog has a new look and feel — just in time to celebrate the 100th edition!

Without further ado, let’s move on to the selections for the 100th edition. I decided to focus on the top 10.

Pick of the week: With many local real estate markets in decline, it’s not the time for home buyers to overextend themselves. John Lockwood gives some fantastic and very relevant advice with his Buying A Home? Be Conservative! post at Sacramento Real Estate Blog.

And in no particular order, here are the rest of this week’s top 10:

Few bloggers utilize graphics to their fullest effect in blog posts (I’m guilty of that as well). Joe Manausa submitted a fantastic post including compelling and clear graphs demonstrating a modest decline in home values.  Housing Prices Decline Slightly - A Clear Picture Is Forming is posted on Tallahassee Real Estate Blog.

Karen Goodman submitted Ask Your Agent About Sign Callers Before You Sign a Listing Agreement which is posted at St. Louis Real Estate Insights. Karen is writing from the heart and makes a clear case for why it’s smart business to not demand a pre-approval letter prior to showing a home. Congratulations to Karen for making the top 10 with her first submission to the CoRE!

Silicon Valley Blogger wrote Increase the Value of Your Home With a Few Simple, Affordable Changes posted at The Digerati Life. Anything that can be done to increase the perceived value of a home and differentiate it is critical to selling a home in a buyer’s market.

Dan Melson has been a CoRE participant and supporter since the get-go (he actually won the very 1st carnival). If you’ve read Dan Melson’s writing before, it’s no surprise Dan’s article at Searchlight Crusade made the short list — Customer Disservice and Alienation - Why Nobody Talks to My Clients Except Me.

Since I think voice is extremely important to successful blogging, posts that include a strong voice resonate well with me. I loved the spider analogy that Lauren Mitchell included in her submission Caught!! How Toronto Real Estate Agents Spin The Overpriced Listing Web which is posted at Living In The Neighbourhood Toronto Real Estate Blog. The main point: don’t fall into the trap of an overpriced listing.

Dan Green constantly writes fantastic advice for borrowers and this week was no different. Check out Dan’s post at the The Mortgage Reports focused on helping homeowners digest the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac news — Homeowners And Home Buyers : What The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Story Means To You

Talk about a deep dive into credit scores! Raymond explained the ins and outs at Money Blue Book in How Credit Scores Work And How Scores Are Calculated.

Here’s one for the the social media guru’s out there; Twitter came to the rescue for David Blockhus — Read all about it in How Twitter Saved The Day! posted at Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog.

And to round out our top 10 and the 100th CoRE; Tisha Kulak explained how to prepare yourself to face the financing application process with Tips for Qualifying for a Mortgage posted at American Consumer News.

Again, thank you to all those who have made the 100th edition of the CoRE possible! Be sure to tune in next week for the 101st edition at Alpharetta Real Estate Blog.

Hope to see you here again for the 200th edition sometime in 2010!!

Here are Steve Jagger’s thoughts on the subject of why realtors should be blogging (on video).

[via Ubertor]

The 99th edition of the Carnival of Real Estate is posted at Homethinking Blog. There are 5 picks highlighted — head on over and take a look!

The grand 100th edition of the CoRE will be posted right here on the Carnival of Real Estate Blog next Monday, July 21st by yours truly! Thank you for everyone who has supported the CoRE over the past 2 years and helped make it into what it is today. Please submit your best post by Sunday July 20, to be considered for inclusion in the 100th! Are you a real estate blogger and would you like to host a future edition or take a more active role in carnival administration? If so, get instructions on how to do so here. Please check the complete FAQ list if you have other questions as to how to participate.

This week’s 98th edition of the Carnival of Real Estate is posted at Transparent RE. Pat Kitano put together a slideshow using SlideShare.net to highlight this week’s articles — head on over and take a look!

The carnival will make its next appearance on Monday, July 14 at Lansner on Real Estate Homethinking Blog. Please submit your best post by Sunday July 13, to be considered. Are you a real estate blogger and would you like to host a future edition or take a more active role in carnival administration? If so, get instructions on how to do so here. Please check the complete FAQ list if you have other questions as to how to participate.

This week’s 4th of July Stars and Stripes edition of the Carnival of Real Estate (the 97th CoRE) is live over at Trulia Blog! In addition to the “sparkling” pick of the week, Rudy highlighted 10 other fantastic posts. Head on over and take a look!

The carnival will make its next appearance on Monday, July 7 at Transparent RE. Please submit your best post by Sunday July 6, to be considered. Are you a real estate blogger and would you like to host a future edition or take a more active role in carnival administration? If so, get instructions on how to do so here. Please check the complete FAQ list if you have other questions as to how to participate.

I had the chance to speak with the host of the 96th edition of the CoRE, Harvey Edgecombe, this morning for this week’s CoRE Podcast. Harvey focuses on helping investors find property in the UK, but particularly residential properties in London and had an excellent, and fresh, perspective on the real estate industry to share. This was Harvey’s 2nd CoRE Podcast, so he was a seasoned pro. Enjoy the conversation!

The CoRE encourages all hosts to follow up with a podcast interview. Why? It’s a great way for future hosts to hear about the process and the thinking behind previous host’s selections

This week’s 96th edition of the Carnival of Real Estate is live over at Renthusiast! There were 3 awards given, each of them named after a famous carnival — The Brazilian Feel Good Award, The Venetian Masquerade Award , and The New Orleans Resilience Award. Head on over to see this weeks’ award winners!

The carnival will make its next appearance on Monday, June 30 at Trulia Blog. Please submit your best post by Sunday June 29, to be considered. Are you a real estate blogger and would you like to host a future edition or take a more active role in carnival administration? If so, get instructions on how to do so here. Please check the complete FAQ list if you have other questions as to how to participate.

This week’s 95th Motor City edition of the Carnival of Real Estate is live over at miOaoklandCounty.com! There were 5 categories of awards given — Edsel, Chevy, Corvette, Lincoln Town Car, and this week’s pick of the week, the 2008 Malibu Award. Head on over to see this weeks’ award winners!

The carnival will make its next appearance on Monday, June 23 at Renthusiast. Please submit your best post by Sunday June 22, to be considered. Are you a real estate blogger and would you like to host a future edition or take a more active role in carnival administration? If so, get instructions on how to do so here. Please check the complete FAQ list if you have other questions as to how to participate.

I had fun chatting with Mike Price yesterday about CoRE 94 - click here to listen to our conversation. Mike’s incredibly insightful when it comes to blog marketing and much of our conversation focused on that topic. Listen out for Mike’s thoughts on the best strategy for local viral videos, B2B vs B2C blogging and the importance of niche marketing. And if that’s not enough to peak your curiosity, we also discussed the most effective RE blogging idea that no-one’s really pursuing yet. Enjoy!

The CoRE encourages all hosts to follow up with a podcast interview. Why? It’s a great way for future hosts to hear about the process and the thinking behind previous host’s selections. If you haven’t yet subscribed to the CoRE podcast, check it out (iTunes Link).

This week’s 94th edition of the Carnival of Real Estate is another dandy, this time by Mike Price; it’s posted at his blog, Mike’s Corner. To go along with the honorable mentions, there are three top picks highlighted that were deemed outstanding — take a look to find out who the winners were!

The carnival will make its next appearance on Monday, June 16 at Maureen Frances of the MIOakland County Blog. Please submit your best post by Sunday June 15, to be considered. Are you a real estate blogger and would you like to host a future edition or take a more active role in carnival administration? If so, get instructions on how to do so here. Please check the complete FAQ list if you have other questions as to how to participate.