Why wait to be up to date with everything that's relevant about real estate? The news and opinion in Realty Digest appears on the Service You Can Trust blog on Fridays at 6:05 a.m. You can be in the know by heading there first thing as well as by following Malcolm on Twitter, where up-to-the minute developments appear, and on Facebook. Please consider bookmarking or subscribing to the blog for information that you won't find anywhere else day after day.



Among the top news items this week are evidence that interest in new condos is growing, the rental marketing is getting tighter and the state comptroller is becoming depressed about recovery. Other reports cover what's happening in the region's second-home market, our property tax situation and buyers' reaction to tough lending standards.

See exactly how gratifying greed can be, the status of the July and August housing markets in the U.S., the impact of the growing foreclosures scandal and the reason you should worry about resale fees.

It's all in the Service You Can Trust blog's roundup of last week's most relevant developments in the U.S. and housing markets, the mortgage business, research, celebrity sales and purchases, household tips and economists' forecasts.

And if you want to read Malcolm's caustic and honest critiques of properties that he visits, the Service You Can Trust blog's Out and About posts are now the best source of that information on a regular basis. Today's post reviews a nearly $19 million full-floor apartment in a new Upper West Side building at one end of the spectrum and a $345,000 studio at the other.

To search listings of properties on the market, that option is just a click away either below or on the blog, but do bear in mind that Malcolm can streamline your search and ensure effective negotiations.