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Countryside in South Korea

Countryside in South Korea 04/08/13 Price: $3,100,000 Location: South Korea Type of Home: Detached Home This four-bedroom home in South Korea's Gyeonggi Province offers a spacious yard, multiple terraces and scenic countryside views.-Jennifer Chang

http://on.wsj.com/12CZeJt

5 Things Preventing You From Getting a Mortgage Refinance -- AOL Real Estate

By Chris Birk are beginning to creep up, but they're still well within the kind of range that makes longtime homeowners shake their heads in disbelief. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit 3.63 percent for the week of March 10, marking the highest point since last summer.

http://aol.it/11Kd6T6

Jump in House Prices Stirs New Worry

The housing market has broken out of a deep slump, a cause for celebration for many homeowners. But the speed at which prices are rising is prompting murmurs of concern.

http://on.wsj.com/12zvOzz

The Home Bidding Wars Are Back! -- AOL Real Estate

The bidding wars are back. Seemingly overnight, many of the nation's major housing markets have gone from stagnant to sizzling, with for-sale listings drawing offers from a large number of house hunters. In March, 75% of agents with broker Redfin said their clients' offers were countered by rival bids, up from 56% who said so in late 2011.

http://aol.it/ZiT97K

The Twin Houses of an Odd Couple

Portland, Ore. Roland Zehetbauer and Ted Wardlaw met when they were both married and lived two houses away from each other. They became friends, holding dinners and barbecues with their families and going on skiing, biking and mountain climbing excursions together.

http://on.wsj.com/10jt2dV

New York City Wants To Build Even More 'Micro Apartments'

The city will be putting out more requests for proposals for micro-apartment sites, the New York Observer reported. "We are considering RFPs for two or three micro-unit developments later this year," a Department of Housing Preservation and Development spokesman told The Observer after a lunch hosted by the Citizens Housing Planning Council Thursday.

http://read.bi/12oxrjq

Bird's-Eye View: Artist Jayson Fann's Human-Sized Bird's Nests -- for People -- AOL Real Estate

We've heard of homes that blend right into the great outdoors and treehouse living, but this takes all of that to a whole new level. Californian artist Jayson Fann has created human-sized bird's nests that allow humans to sleep and live in the trees -- much like a bird would.

http://aol.it/12omaj3

Empires of the Sun

New Yorkers Invade Miami After a series of sluggish years, Miami's luxury condo market is reviving, thanks in part to help from an unexpected source: New Yorkers.

http://on.wsj.com/11u4r7m

Bringing Warmth to London

Huda Cotran had what seemed like the perfect apartment: a 5,000-square-foot London flat in a Norman Foster-designed building that overlooked the River Thames. Unfortunately, she hated it. American Chic Abroad "I hired a well-known interior designer who made the house gray and cold," said Mrs. Cotran, a Lebanese-British film producer.

http://on.wsj.com/10fKUGo

Private Properties

Donald Roth, a founder of international private-equity firm EMP Global and a former vice president of the World Bank, has sold his 11,000-square-foot home in the Georgetown area of Washington for $8.6 million, according to people close to the deal. The nine-bedroom, seven-bathroom home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

http://on.wsj.com/12kBGwx