Happy Friday! AOL has rounded up a great crop of open houses for the weekend including this arched beauty in Pinecrest, Florida. It is open on May 20 and is listed for $1.695 million. This and more great links below:

Open Houses of the Week, May 19-20 [AOL Real Estate]

Celine Dion Lists Canadian Island For Sale [Wall Street Journal]

Lady Antebellum Singer Buys In Nashville [Real Estalker]

Property Viewing Etiquette For House Hunters [Hooked On Houses]

Positive Signs Abound In The Housing Market [Realtor Mag]

Former Chicago Bears Safety Chris Harris Lists In Gurnee [Chicago Tribune]

Bubble Hill, Eddie Murphy’s mansion in Englewood, New Jersey has been on the market for years but may have finally found a new owner. This and more great links below:

has Eddie Murphy Finally Sold Bubble Hill? [NY Post]

The Buyer of Champ D’Or Revealed [Candy's Dirt]

Mortgage Delinquencies At Lowest Level In Five Years [AG Beat]

Byron Allen Buys In Beverly Hills [Real Estalker]

Basics For Beekeeping [Apartment Therapy]

Homes of the Rich finds the most expensive home in the Rancho Santa Fe area of California, this lavish mansion on nearly 39 acres. The landscaped grounds include modern interpretations of Monet’s famous gardens. It is listed for $40 million. This and more great links below:

$40 Million Resort Style Estate In Ranch Santa Fe [Homes of the Rich]

NAR Member Survey Shows Rising Incomes [Realtor.org]

How Do I Determine Closing Costs? [Robinson Team Real Estate Blog]

Do You Talk To The Neighbors Before Buying A House? [Dave Sells Charlotte Blog]

Why Curb Appeal Still Matters [Maggie Finegan Blog]

Real Life House At Pooh Corner For Sale [Curbed]

The Most Well-Read Cities As Ranked By Amazon [Geekwire]

Home Builder Confidence Rose Five Points In May [National Association of Home Builders]

Realtor.com today announced an agreement to launch the Realtor.com Channel powered by the Home Tour Network, part of the RealBizMedia’s group.

The new Realtor.com Channel will launch in the second half of 2012 and bring millions of property listings into 55 million U.S. homes starting with the Cox cable network. In doing so, Realtor.com will be the first company to deliver a real estate search experience on the three screens consumers use most: computer, mobile and TV. Executives are discussing plans to expand the channel into other networks.

“Realtor.com is continually improving the real estate search experience with emerging technologies to make it easier for millions of people to connect with real estate professionals ready to help them find the home that’s right for their family,” said Steve Berkowitz, Move’s chief executive officer. “With ‘for-sale’ inventories down across the nation, having convenient, fast and fun search options, along with the partnership of a professional agent, is important. When the Realtor.com Channel has launched, regardless of where you are or what you’re doing, Realtor.com will be with you.”

The Realtor.com Channel will be a powerful way for real estate agents to reach home buyers on a highly geo-targeted level. Based on location, property listings on the Realtor.com Channel will be displayed by price range delivered by the Home Tour Network and include high quality photo-based videos and descriptions provided by agents. With just a few clicks of the remote, viewers can instantly connect with agents for information.

“We’re excited to be teaming up with Realtor.com on this new venture that will help millions of people find what we hope becomes their piece of the American Dream – a home,” said Steve Marques, CEO of RealBizMedia. “Our experience in launching our propriety video platform positions RealBizMedia to leverage both organizations’ assets and provide home buyers and folks simply interested in checking out the local market with a new way to discover real estate and connect with real estate experts across the country.”

Only Realtor.com listings – the freshest and most accurate collection of real estate listings available – will appear on the new Realtor.com Channel. All listings on Realtor.com are sent to the site directly from more than 850 MLSs across the nation. Approximately 85 percent of the listings on Realtor.com are updated every 15 minutes by the MLSs with the remainder updated every one to 24 hours.

Today’s VOD platform makes it possible for millions of potential buyers who subscribe to cable television to discover for-sale listings as part of their entertainment viewing experience. With the rapid adoption of technologies that enable seamless navigation between TV to internet content, Realtor.com is now positioned to create even richer experiences and more opportunities for consumers, agents and advertisers to connect conveniently and on demand.

An exclusive media program will soon be developed for general advertisers interested in reaching millions of cable subscribers across the nation through the Realtor.com Channel. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Realtor Roberta Baldwin has the listing for this 1922 Georgian colonial in Montclair Twp, New Jersey. The original wood-paneled family room on the first floor is said to be modeled after one owned by the Rockefeller family. There’s also a first-floor den/study/TV room and two bright sunrooms, plus a charming European-style elevator. The home is ocated in prestigious Estate Section, with a fenced backyard and inground, heated Sylvan pool. There are two basements – one finished w/bath & kitchen prep space; and a storage area behind a four-car tandem garage. The ample third floor has a cedar closet plus considerable attic storage. This property is listed for $1.395 million.

Realtor Nadiya Gerjan has the listing for this home in Greenwood Lake, New York. Perfect as a getaway home or starter home, it is located on the side of the mountain in a private beach community. The home has an open floor plan with an updated kitchen and a slider to the deck. It is listed at $176,000.

Don’t forget about Reminderville. Realtor Svetlana Stolyarova has the listing for this three-bedroom home in Reminderville, Ohio. It has an upgraded kitchen with granite countertops, a family room with a marble fireplace, and a living room with vaulted ceilings and skylights. A sliding door leads to the double tiered deck which overlooks a landscaped back yard. This home is listed at $229,000.

This four level home with an open vaulted floor plan is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Central air was installed in 2008 so it is ready for the warm days ahead. There is room to expand in the spacious lower level. This home is listed at $189,900.

Realtor Sylvia Jonathan has the listing for this condo just a few blocks from the waterfront in San Pedro, California. The unit has a rooftop view of harbor and city lights in a small complex of only eight units. The larger community patio can be accessed from each private deck and has vws of East Rancho Palos Verdes and the Harbor. It is listed for $345,000.

Realtor Kay Kammeyer has the listing for this brick ranch in Greenfield, Indiana. The home has an expansive great room that features a cathedral ceiling, skylights and a floor-to-ceiling brick hearth fireplace. The functional eat-in kitchen has lots of cabinet space and a breakfast bar which flows into the lovely sunroom with bamboo flooring. This home is listed for $159,000.

The Shafer team has the listing for this three-bedroom home in La Grange, Kentucky. The home has a fireplace that can be enjoyed from both the vaulted great room and the sun room. The fenced property includes a two-car garage and landscaped back yard. This home is listed for $239,900.

The Jeanne and Dan team have the listing for this four-bedroom home in Martinsburg, West Virginia. The home has its master bedroom suite on the main level with over 3,400 square feet of living space. The property has an unfinished basement, side load garage, storage building, and a well landscaped lot. This home is listed at $345,000.

Realtor Ed Corbett is holding an open house at this home in Marietta, Georgia on May 13 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The home has rosewood floors in the family room, dining room and kitchen. There is a sunken living room and a family room that has beams, skylight, a stone fireplace and wet bar. The master bedroom opens out to the patio. This home is listed for $297,500.

The Aronheim Group is holding an open house at this home in Oakton, Virginia on May 13 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. This colonial is on over have an acre and has an open kitchen and butler’s pantry with adjacent laundry/mud room. The interior has been freshly painted and a finished lower level walkout recreation room also provides great storage too. The upper level living area bedrooms are spacious with abundant closet space and a master bedroom has a sitting room with two large walk-in closets. This home is listed at $709,900.

Realtor Karen Briscoe is hosting an open house at this townhome in Vienna, Virginia on May 13 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The three-level hownhouse house has custom moldings, gorgeous color palette, hardwoods, upgraded baths with ceramic tile and granite vanities, generous owner’s retreat and a gourmet kitchen. The neighborhood amenities include bus service to metro, pool, fitness center and dog park. It is listed for $747,000.

Realtor John Herrigel is hosting an open house at this four-bedroom home in Scarborough, Maine on May 13 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The home has four full floors of living space, a two-car garage, great deck, and wooded back yard for privacy.It is listed for $384,900.

It’s Friday, time for planning the weekend’s open house visits. AOL’s weekly round-up includes this pool home in Scottsdale, Arizona. This six-bedroom home is open on May 13 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and is listed for $699,000. This and more great links below:

Open Houses of the Week–May 12-13 [AOL Real Estate]

Texas Quarterly Housing Report Shows Steady Growth In Austin [Robert Fischer Featured Blog]

Spark of Genius–A Ne Business Camp [AG Beat]

Merv Griffin’s Former Estate Back On The Market [Wall Street Journal]

Six Decorating Trends For Summer [Hooked On Houses]

Retired Chicago Cub Todd Hundley Sells In Glenview [Chicago Tribune]

Creative Mother’s Day Gifts [Houzz]

AOL Real Estate highlights this contemporary home in McLean, Virginia which was designed by architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen in the early 1980s. The home is on over two acres and has Potomac river frontage and a dramatic cantilevered swimming pool. It is listed for $9 million. This and more great links below:

House of the Day: Potomac River Contemporary [AOL Real Estate]

New York Magazine’s New Design Title [Curbed]

Meg Ryan House Hunting In NYC [NY Post]

NAR Sees Home Prices Firming [AG Beat]

A Traditional Mansion In Brentwood, Tennessee [Homes of the Rich]

Octogenarian Gets The Mid Century Home of Her Dreams [NY Times]

There’s nothing people love more than a comeback story. Perhaps that’s why the story of Detroit, Michigan, once the center of American auto manufacturing and the metal heart of the Midwest, so captivates the minds and hearts of the American people. And American businesses have seized on this. In 2011, Chrysler came out with an ad featuring Detroit’s own Eminem’s music to sell the image of American innovation. The 2012 Super Bowl ad from Chrysler juxtaposed images of Detroit factories with a rousing speech from Clint Eastwood that included the following words: “Detroit’s showing us it can be done. And, what’s true about them is true about all of us. This country can’t be knocked out with one punch.”

Much of the fascination with Detroit is also centered on its real estate. Detroit is a city much reduced, both in population and in home values. Many people have left the area, creating numerous housing vacancies. But the stories of houses selling for less than the price of car began to appear in the media several years ago also showed us that this is an area ripe for opportunity. Artists and filmmakers came to the area and documented images of ruined and abandoned buildings, as well as the art houses, urban farms, and lofts filled with creative types that are part of the new Detroit. Both the Huffington Post and real estate website Curbed.com established outposts in Detroit partly because as the Clint Eastwood commercial stated: their story is our story, an American story.

Detroit isn’t at the top of our Top Turnaround Towns List in America. But the fact that it is on the list at all says something about the indomitable spirit of people who are willing to invest, see opportunity before it fully manifests, and take a chance that what was once great will rise again.

While Detroit was at the top of the foreclosure lists for years, improving auto sales are helping turn the city around and there are encouraging signs in the local housing market. List prices are starting to rise, up 5.82% on a year-over-year quarterly basis, while inventories are shrinking, down -29.59% in the first quarter of 2012 compared to Q1 2011. The median age of inventory has also declined -27.27% on a year-over-year quarterly basis, down to a median of 56 days.

The news that Whole Foods Markets is breaking ground on a new store in Detroit’s Midtown has many people excited that the so-called “Whole Foods Effect” will bring more attention and prosperity to the area. The deals to be had in the area are appealing to both investors and urban adventurers. Recently a home built by the wealthy Scripps family – the dynasty that gave Detroit The Detroit News and helped found the Detroit Institute of Arts – went on the market for under $200,000. The six-bedroom home was built in 1916 and has 12,000 square feet of space, with a library, three fireplaces and a carriage house all for $195,500. The home needs a great deal of work but has great bones.

If you like Tudor homes, Detroit is your playground: the Palmer Woods neighborhood is full of many stately Tudors, the grandest being the Van Dusen mansion (currently on the market for $750,000.) Buyers in need of less square footage can take advantage of the many lofts and condos on the market, priced far less than they would be in many other cities.

Detroit is a certainly a city in flux. The Detroit Works project is currently exploring new plans for remaking vacant neighborhoods into areas offering housing, parks, and other green spaces. There is tremendous hope and belief that the Motor City’s second act is just about to begin.