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Here's a look at what's new in real-estate markets across the U.S. from around the Web. (Some links may require registration or subscriptions.)

Relic houses that won't sell

In a recent MSNBC.com article, Manhattan broker Barbara Corcoran says your house won't sell if:

• It is too small. Today's buyers want bigger homes. If you can't add on to your house, do what you can to make it appear bigger, she says.
• The home has only one bathroom. Buyers expect more than one bathroom and "don't want to wait" to use it, she says.
• It doesn't have central air conditioning. It'll cost about $10,000 to $12,000 to install it.
• The residence has outdated fuse boxes, spiral staircases, a basement laundry room, popcorn or stucco ceilings, or a basement without access from inside the home.

Ms. Corcoran also notes that McMansions, separate living and dining rooms, smaller master bathrooms, standard-size garage doors (that barely accommodate SUVs) and oversized decks (in relation to the yard) are also on the way out.

Homes that sell in days

In Baltimore, homes spend on average of 105 days on the market before they sell. But in November, 13% of the 1,892 residential properties that were on the market in the Baltimore metropolitan area had contracts with buyers in two weeks or less, according to the Baltimore Sun.

These homes sold at an average price of $304,355, or about $4,000 below the overall average sale price in Baltimore, the Sun says. They were priced either at or below the price of comparable homes, were generally in good condition, "showed beautifully" and had a "full force of marketing, such as enticing Internet photos behind them."

One owner who sold a 22-year-old, three-bedroom house in a week painted all the rooms, put in a new dishwasher and new flooring, replaced a skylight, added new tile to the master bathroom and restained the home's shingle exterior. The article does not mention the cost of the repairs, but says the house sold for $392,500, just below the $399,900 asking price.

Housewarming gift: toxic mold

ABC News recently published a story about a young couple who paid $75,000 for a five-bedroom, two-bathroom house that was in foreclosure in Greenville, S.C., only to discover that the house had a hidden room with a growing secret: toxic mold. The couple discovered the problem while renovating the home, when they found a note about the mold problem left in the secret room, which was blocked off from the rest of the house by some bookcases.

It turns out that the former owners, who couldn't afford the mold cleanup, lost their home to foreclosure after their children reportedly got ill from the mold. These owners warned their mortgage company and the home's new real-estate agent about the home's condition, but got no response. So, they left a note behind, presumably in the hopes that the new owner would discover it, ABC News says.

After environmental tests revealed the mold, the new owners sued Fannie Mae and the real-estate agent who sold the home to them. They dropped Fannie Mae from the suit when the lender agreed to buy back the house. The homeowners and the agent settled, although the agent's lawyer says that the owners had been informed in a contract that the home might have mold, ABC says.

Hot spots for international buyers

With the dollar down and home prices falling, U.S. residential property is attractive to overseas buyers, says Kevin Brass of the International Herald Tribune.

Mr. Brass says that in 2007:

• 26% of overseas buyers purchased a home in Florida.
• 16% bought in California.
• 10% bought in Texas, with the Gulf Coast being popular.
• 6% purchased in Arizona.
• 4% bought in New York.
• 3% snagged a home in Colorado.

Of those buyers, 33% were from Europe, 24% hailed from Asia and 16% came from Latin America, Mr. Brass says.

Ms. Kim is a senior editor at RealEstateJournal.com.

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