The National Association of Real Estate Editors announced three winners, along with a first-time author award, for top real estate books this year for the 2008 Robert Bruss Real Estate Book Awards. Check out the list of winners and then share with us the best real estate book you've read this year.

Gold Award
Prefabulous: The House of Your Dreams Delivered Fresh From the Factory (Taunton Press)
By Sheri Koones
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Judges comments: "It explores in depth the different types of prefab homes available on the market. The amount of information is stunning, making this book a necessity for anyone who is considering building this type of house.”

Silver Award
Creating Value: Smart Development and Green Design (Urban Land Insitute)
By Vernon Swaback
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Judges comments: "With interest in a 'green' environment rapidly receiving more and more attention, this book by a well-known architect is must reading for anyone interested in real estate development. Thoroughly researched and making good use of four-color photographs and

Continue reading "NAREE Names Best Real Estate Books of the Year" »

Posted on November 19 at 01:55 PM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (1)

The National Association of Real Estate Editors is accepting entries for its first Robert Bruss Real Estate Book Awards. Authors of books published in 2007 and 2006 on such real estate topics as home buying, selling, renting, mortgage finance, green building, urban design, architecture, government housing policy, and construction are eligible to apply. Get more information on how to apply at www.NAREE.org. Four winners will be announced, including for a first-time author award. Winners will receive cash prizes from $1,000-$250. Deadline: Sept. 2.

Posted on August 4 at 11:00 AM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (0)

Books on how to make big money from house-flipping aren’t exactly flying off the bookshelves these days, according to a recent article in The New York Times (A Shift in Real Estate Books, by Joanne Kaufman, June 9, 2008) about how the slowdown in the real estate market is affecting book sales.

Once popular how-to books about reselling hot properties for quick cash are being replaced by how-to books on avoiding foreclosure and rebounding from real estate investing mistakes.

Publishers are adding new titles and updating backlist titles to reflect the changing times. So what else can

Continue reading "Latest Real Estate Books Take on Different Theme" »

Posted on July 11 at 05:05 PM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (0)

By Mary Martinez
NAR Manager, Library & Information Services

No surprise, real estate sales books consistently rank among the top circulating titles in the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ Virtual Library eBooks Collection, a special library collection just for REALTORS® and association staff.

But, this digital collection offers something for every facet of life. NAR members have free access to 1,000 downloadable books, audio books, and videos on everything from managing a real estate career to learning Japanese ... from practicing time management to practicing yoga ... from using a digital camera to making real money in Second Life.

Among the most popular eBooks in May were those on foreclosed properties:
— Buying Real Estate Foreclosures
— How to Make Money on Foreclosures
— Make Money in Short-Sale Foreclosures

However, other eBooks making the top 10 list in May included audio books on learning Spanish — Instant Immersion Spanish and Dr. Blair's Spanish In No Time; eBooks on Internet

Continue reading "Take Your Reading Digital and Access Free Books" »

Posted on June 16 at 04:11 PM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (0)

NAR's annual Midyear meetings are underway in Washington, D.C., and some of the best-selling books flying off the bookshelf at the REALTORS booth in the Trade Expo include:

• Power Real Estate Letters, by William Pivar and Bradley Pivar

• 2007 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

• The NAR Guide to Home Selling, by NAR and Blanche Evans

• 21 Things I Wish my Broker had Told Me: Practical Advice for New Real Estate Professionals, By Frank Cook

• The Fundamentals of Listing and Selling Commercial Real Estate, By Loren K. Keim

The REALTOR Store offers 10 percent off its books at the Midyear meetings.

Posted on May 14 at 03:01 PM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (0)

Best-selling author Gary Keller will be stopping by The Weekly Book Scan to answer your real estate and book questions. Keller is the founder of Keller Williams Realty International, one of the largest real estate companies in North America.

His most recent book Your First Home (McGraw-Hill, 2008), which he wrote with Dave Jenks and Jay Papasan, walks homebuyers through the process of real estate and aims to alleviate first-time homebuyers' fears. Keller is also the coauthor of several books, including best-sellers The Millionaire Real Estate Agent (McGraw-Hill, 2004) and The Millionaire Real Estate Investor (McGraw-Hill, 2005).

Simply click on the "submit" button below to e-mail your real estate or book question to Keller. We'll pass along a selected few of your questions for an upcoming Author Chat. Please keep your questions general so that others can benefit from the responses too.

Keller's responses will be posted to the blog on April 14.

Posted on April 4 at 02:18 PM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (0)

Here are today's top selling sales and marketing books on Amazon.com:

1. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, By Malcolm Gladwell

2. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, By Robert B. Cialdini

3. Little Green Book of Getting Your Way: How to Speak, Write, Present, Persuade, Influence, and Sell Your Point of View to Others, By Jeffrey Gitomer

4. Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant, By W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne

5. The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More, By Chris Anderson

6. Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness, By Jeffrey Gitomer

7. Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude: How to Find, Build and Keep a YES! Attitude for a Lifetime of SUCCESS, By Jeffrey Gitomer

8. The Wisdom of Crowds, By James Surowiecki

9. Little Red Book of Sales Answers: 99.5 Real World Answers That Make Sense, Make Sales, and Make Money, By Jeffrey Gitomer

10. Writer’s Market 2007, By Robert Lee Brewer

Posted on June 18 at 01:59 PM | Permanent Link | Add a Comment (1)