State of the art bathroom stylin'

This one is Design Vertebrae Odyssey.

RoofRay -- checking your solar potential

Rough check using Google Earth.

Affluent whites moving back into the city

Why has demographic inversion begun? For one thing, the deindustrialization of the central city, for all the tragic human dislocations it caused, has eliminated many of the things that made affluent people want to move away from it. Nothing much is manufactured downtown anymore (or anywhere near it), and that means that the noise and grime that prevailed for most of the twentieth century have gone away.

Turn your garden shed into an office

One better example in Manhattan on a rooftop, but it's rather extreme.

Cargo container homes

Two-mile high Ultima Tower design mimics termite mound

The ultradense solution to sprawl.

Electronic House's Homes of the Year

The gold medal to a very green solution.

Small kitchen designs

There are also examples of carts.

ZoomProspector -- geo data for businesses to select location

ZoomProspector aggregates information about various cities and communities - such as labor force sizes, unemployment rates, education levels, venture capital investments, and household incomes - and makes that info accessible through a map-based search tool.

The prostitution "crackdown" in the Netherlands

The red light district is in the oldest, most beautiful area of Amsterdam. In the last 20 years, it has changed from a mixed neighborhood to one almost exclusively peopled by the very well to do. They pay a fortune for those apartments and homes. The talk of cleaning up the neighborhood for the sake of the prostitutes and to lessen criminal behavior is simply a smokescreen. What they wish to do is to create a more up-scale neighborhood - it is gentrification pure and simple.

Seattle's regulations add on $200 000 to house price

From a University of Washington study.

Roomapes -- post profile and find a place

A Google mashup that also has roomie rating.
This is like the Google-Craigslist mashup MapsKrieg.

EveryBlock -- a data point on every block

A thorough interview for this neighborhood data aggregator.

More people walking away from homes

Foreclosure is the correct option for some people, but certainly look deeply into the consequences.

Fee Disclosure for mortgages

Enter zip code, etc. and don't get surprised.

Buying a residence not always the right move

Weigh everything out, crunch the numbers.
Myths about renting or buying here.

Terabitz -- customizable reader for real estate

... drag in modules to add information - local foreclosures, recent sales, listed homes, schools, even fast food restaurants.

Also now,

... new feature - the ability to create a map with various modules included and then embed it on another website. So any site that wants to add a Google generated map that includes, say, local businesses and restaurants (a hotel, for example) can now do so easily.

Buildersite -- tradesmen and contractors put up profiles and get feedback

This one is just for the U.K., but it's certainly a fine idea for anywhere.

High real estate prices prompting divorces

The finally-I-can-afford-to-get-out release. The end also notes the opposite happening too -- too much invested, can't leave.

StreetAdvisor -- real-life advice on neighborhoods

For those interested in buying real estate or just renting:

... provides a real-life “insider” view that provides users the ability to learn and share vital details about where they live, including noise levels, traffic, neighbors, entertainment, and public services in a similar way to travel review sites. Recommendations and negative experiences about local businesses, entertainment and services will also be supported.