The "smoking gun" behind the boom in REALTORS®, at least according to PoliticalCalculations.com, is technology. "Our working theory is that technological innovation, first in the form of the computerized MLS and later through improved access to information through computerized database and Internet technologies, lowered the barriers and costs of entry to larger numbers of real estate agents, above and beyond what would be expected if only the health of the U.S. housing market and economy is taken into consideration," says PoliticalCalculations' April 9 entry.

Redfin lets buyers do their own shopping with tools to help them research and find the home they'd like to buy, then offers the services of a real estate agent to assist in making a formal offer, negotiating the deal, lining up inspections and coordinating the closing. The company rewards Web-savvy buyers for their work with a rebate. By letting buyers find the property they want and letting agents handle the transaction details, Redfin hopes to bring changes to the real estate industry. The company is barely a year old, and already "[o]ur numbers have gone from zero percent market share to about 2 percent [in the Seattle area]," CEO Glenn Kelman told the Seattle Times. "That's insignificant, but time is on our side."

But real estate professionals are only just beginning to see the benefits of blogging. A blog requires a certain amount of time and effort to work well, keeping many time-squeezed agents on the sidelines. "You have to be blogging consistently for six months to a year, with good content, not just boilerplate, to generate transactions," one agent told the Tribune. Those who persist and find ways to make their blog interesting claim the technology can generate clients and more sales.

Okay, maybe not you specifically, but "you" as in anyone who creates content and posts it on the Internet. Instead of focusing on the violence and skirmishes that made so many headlines this year, Time decided to pay homage to the growing trends of individual contribution and cooperation that are making many of today's most popular websites so successful: "It's a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people's network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes."

The first change comes from Zillow, which since its launch earlier this year has frustrated homeowners and real estate professionals by providing inaccurate portrayals about home values and features. "Zillow is hoping to address that issue with a new version of the service that leverages the knowledge of the people who know the property the best -- the homeowners," reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. On Wednesday Zillow began allowing owners to add information about their homes, calculating new values based on their input and letting them add comments about recent remodeling work, etc. By letting owners do some of the footwork about their properties, Zillow hopes to be able to provide a more accurate, useful service (although a professional appraisal is still the best way to find out a home's value).