Flickr image by soundman1024.

Multiple offers on for-sale properties is the modus operandi in some housing markets these days. Inman News columnist Tara-Nicholle Nelson wrote this week, "in the last couple of days, I've seen another 30-offer listing and a bunch in the seven- to 15-offer range. The level of buyer activity has gone from zero to 1,395 in the blink of an eye.

"(And I've asked around -- my colleagues in other markets are seeing the same multiple-offer phenomenon, although perhaps not to quite the same extremes.)"

In a separate report, California Association of Realtors Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young stated that "many distressed properties" are "receiving multiple bids."

Nelson suggests that the looming expiration of the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit may have something to do with the rush of offers.

Are you seeing multiple offers in your market area? Tell us about it. And tell us what factors you think are driving the multiple offers. Who is making these offers? First-time buyers? Move-ups? Investors? And what types of properties seem to get the most offers these days.

Send your comments to: future@inman.com, or comment here.

Inman News may publish some of the comments received.

Angela Logan's bake sale, in which she sold more than 500 "mortgage apple cakes" at $40 apiece, has allowed her to make her mortgage payment and keep her home, The Record of Bergen County newspaper reported.

Logan had sought to sell 100 cakes in order to make payments to her lender, Bank of America, and qualify for a loan modification, according to the report, and a local hotel allowed her to use some kitchen space to meet the demand.

"I won't stop baking until people stop ordering," she told the newspaper. "It's been an outpouring of people wanting to help, and I want them to get their cakes. It'll be awhile, and I'm asking everyone to be patient."

Flickr photo by WordRidden.

Some of you may have seen my tweet earlier today about our new Connect SF Twitter mashup created for us by SocialApproach. If you haven't, take some time to check it out.

The idea behind implementing this was to allow our community to create a fully interactive experience revolving around Connect SF. By integrating twitter, blogs, images and video, it's your one stop shop for related media files, blog posts and real time updates via Twitter. Just use the hashtag #ICSF on your images, videos and tweets and you'll be included in the mix!

Now, whether you're attending the conference (you really should) or just watching from home, you can easily keep up with all the action in one place.

Inman News columnist and Realtor Teresa Boardman digs into the real estate dual agency issue in her column today, "Romancing the 'hogger' " (click here to read).

She explains that the "hogger" is the listing agent who ends up representing both sides of a real estate deal -- collecting the entire real estate commission (minus the listing broker's share).

She writes, "When I went to the classes that I needed to get my real estate license I remember the story the instructors told about the lucky agent who got the 'hogger,' or both sides of the deal. They painted a picture of the hogger being something to strive for because the agent gets the entire commission and does not have to split it with a buyer's agent."

Some states prevent agents from representing consumers on both sides of the deal (the practice of dual agency is sometimes referred to as "double dipping" or "double ending").

In some cases different agents from the same brokerage office will represent the buyer and the seller in a transaction.

A common argument by critics: "You wouldn't want your lawyer to represent the other side in a legal dispute."

Is dual agency ever a good thing for consumers? Are consumers still largely in the dark about dual agency and what it means? Will the practice of dual agency ever be wiped away completely from the real estate industry?

Flickr photo by Sheep purple.

Inman Connect San Francisco 2009 is just around the corner.  Response the stellar program we've got lined up has been tremendous.  So good, in fact, that the Palace Hotel is almost completely sold out already!  The good news, though, is that there is still time for you to register so that you don't miss out on. . .

3 Incredible Pre-Conference Workshops--  Bloggers Connect, ConnectTech, and the Internet Marketing Summit.

A chance to see the hottest startups in the real estate space at Startup Alley.

The sure-to-be valuable welcome address by Brad Inman highlighting the importance of grassroots innovation in the real estate industry.  

A completely redesigned program format that will give you more hard-hitting, valuable information than ever before.  

Not one, not two, but THREE killer keynote presentations--  Nick Bilton of the New York Times; Alfred Lin, Chairman, COO & CFO, Zappos.com; and Jeremy Stoppelman, Co-founder and CEO, Yelp Inc.

Those are just the highlights of what is sure to be an amazing gathering of the world's best and brightest of the real estate industry.  So what are you waiting for?  You've still got time to register and get a room, but you better hurry!   

See you in San Francisco!

What's your tweet worth?  Well, it could be worth $100, and possibly even more if you're one of the lucky winners of our Twitter contest.

Here's the scoop:

Starting today -- July 1, 2009 -- we're launching the first official Inman News Twitter contest.  The rules are simple.  Just tweet a message that includes a link to this page: http://www.inman.com/events/real-estate-connect-san-francisco-2009 and use the #icsf hashtag so we can track the tweets.  Pretty easy huh?

What's in it for you?

Amazing discounts and prizes galore! The prizes below are listed next to the corresponding winning tweet #. 

10th = $100 off registration to Connect SF

25th = $250 off registration to Connect SF

50th = $500 off registration to Connect SF

100th = Free registration to Connect SF

150th = Two Free Registrations to Connect SF

250th = Two Free registrations and a free dinner at the Palace Hotel (up to $75 value)

500th = Two Free registration for SF and NY plus 1 year Inman News premium subscription

1000th = Five free registrations to Connect SF and lunch with Brad Inman

So, if I'm the 10th person to tweet (following the above rules), I would win $100 off registration to the conference.  Score!

As you can see, the prizes just keep getting better the more people tweet and re-tweet.  Will you be one of the lucky ones?

We'll be announcing the winners on Twitter as they happen so keep an eye out by following us at @inmannews.

We also have a secret prize to give away that we will be announcing later.  I can't tell you what it is, but trust me, it'll make the winner very happy!

Now the fine print:  Free registrations can be transferred to a future event if you've already purchased a pass.  Inman News reserves the right to change contest rules without notice.  If you're still reading this, you're worried too much about the rules.  Get out there and tweet!

Inman News has had a presence on Facebook for quite a while, now.  We recognized that Facebook provides an opportunity for our members and audience to not only keep up with the information and events at Inman News, but to connect and establish relationships with each other, too.  That is why we had established an Inman News Facebook group.

The group worked fine, but it didn't do a lot of the things that we wanted to do.  When Facebook launched pages for businesses and brands, they opened up a lot of the functionality that we originally sought.  That is why we are proud to announce the launch of the Inman News Facebook page.  If you are on Facebook, we would love it if you would become a Fan at our page.  All you have to do is go to http://Facebook.com/InmanNews.  From there, just click on the "become a fan" link.

Once you become a fan, you'll be able to receive updates from us with all of the latest news and information, along with updates on special events and promotions.  What's even better, is that you can join in discussions with your fellow real estate industry colleagues, or even share interesting, relevant information of your own!

The page is always going to be a bit of a work in progress as new features get added, and we receive feedback from our Fans and members as to what they would like to see on the page.

So, if you haven't already done so, become a Fan of Inman News on Facebook.  And if you have done it, we would love it if you would invite your friends, and tell us what you think! 

I know you've probably gotten the emails.  You may have even seen the message on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.  But, I don't want to hear ANYONE say they never got the memo on this one...

So, here it is again:

You now have less than 24 hours before the pricing goes up on registration to Connect SF '09.

After the end of the day today (Friday), you'll be paying the full price. So raid the piggy bank, dig under the cushions, do whatever you need to do to make it happen.  Connect SF is the ONE industry event that you shouldn't miss.

Register HERE.

It may look like your typical American home, but when this property in Trussville, Ala., changed hands for $187,000 in 2004, the stage was set for a legal battle that could have implications for every real estate brokerage's business model.

The buyer, Vicki Busby, was charged a $149 "ABC fee" (administrative brokerage commission) on top of the $4,675 commission she paid her agent (the agent's split of the 5 percent commission on the sale -- see the HUD-1). Busby's agent didn't see any of the ABC fee -- it all went to the brokerage, RealtySouth, which is now facing a class action lawsuit alleging it violated RESPA by charging an unearned fee.

Such fees are becoming increasingly common in some markets, and often they're even bigger. In a three-part series beginning today, Inman News looks at the legal, ethical and competitive issues involved in charging such fees.

Defenders of the fees say brokerages have instituted them in order to cope with the rising cost of providing services and smaller commission splits with agents. As long as they're properly disclosed, they are both legal and ethical, they say.   

But brokerages that decide to charge the fees seem to be running the risk not only of lawsuits by consumers, but of alienating their own agents, many of whom see them as "junk fees" (see Part I).

The particulars of the Busby case will be discussed in Part II of the series tomorrow. For a taste of what's in store in Part III -- which details the backlash by consumers and agents -- check out this Q&A that RealtySouth prepared in 2003, in hopes of defusing the protests it expected from agents when it implemented an ABC fee. Questions addressed included:

Wasn't Realty South "being greedy by imposing such a fee?" Would competitors use the fee against the company? What if a potential client decides to look for a company that doesn't charge the fee?  "Why do you keep putting these roadblocks in the way of of my doing business?"

Agents continue to voice similar concerns today, as the fees become more common and larger.

Incidentally, Busby's home is back on the market. It's listed for $169,900 -- less than it sold for in 2004 and 2001. Needless to say, the listing is with another brokerage.

TIP Strategies Inc., an economic development consulting firm, has mapped out U.S. job-loss trends using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. You can press the "play" button to watch as green circles (representing job growth) shrink and then blossom into red circles (job loss) over time.

If this were a game of "Missile Command," you might expect "Game Over" to pop up at any moment. But how far from over is this grisly unemployment trend?