Although it seems as though everywhere you turn the housing market is down and people are practically giving homes away.  Although this is true for a large portion of the country, some areas remain un-touched by the recession.  Look at Chicago for example.  The famous hipster haven known as Green Acres in Detroit is selling homes for $6,000, that's about how much they cost during the great depression.

Less than 15 miles away, however, in the welathy, upscale part of Birmingham, the real estate market is normal.  The rich elite are having bidding wars over multi-million dollar mansions with indoor pools and outdoor kitchens.  In fact, abcnews says that, "sales this August were up 21 percent from the previous year. The country club has ended its stealth discounts on new memberships. And Main Street's retail storefronts are full."

Why do you think the large real-estate discrepency in roughly the same city? 

House hunting is difficult no matter where you're looking but some markets are more challenging than others.  Three New York realators who deal primarily with high end apartments spoke to ABC News about the very basics of house hunting.

• “Location, location, location” is a real estate cliché for a reason. It matters. Do you like the neighborhood? Does it have the amenities you want? Good schools? A convenient commute to work? Even the best apartment in a not-so-great neighborhood may not make you happy.
• Not all square footage is created equal. Layouts can differ tremendously from apartment to apartment. Don’t pass by an apartment listing based on square footage alone. There may be a lot of square footage wasted, sometimes in long hallways (unless you are like one of our clients in our book, “Hot Property” and love hallways).
• Look down the line. Don’t just think about what you need now; think about what you’ll need a few years from now. An extra bedroom or office is ideal to accommodate visitors as well as any new additions to the family.
• Don’t judge a book by its cover. It’s easy to get seduced by the bells and whistles of an apartment, but the most important things to consider are an apartment’s bones. You can rip up a carpet or redo a kitchen, but you can’t add more windows for a better view. Make sure you start with a good skeleton.
• You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince. You may get lucky and fall in love on the first date, or you may have to look at a large number of apartments to find the right one. Carve out plenty of time for it and know that you may have to accommodate particular day and time restrictions on when apartments can be viewed.
• Trust your instincts. There’s nothing worse than trying to cram your foot into a shoe that just doesn’t fit right. The same thing goes for apartments. Don’t doubt yourself; you’ll know when it’s not the right fit. Move on to the next.
• Be realistic. Of course, you want to find the apartment of your dreams. But be sure to keep an open mind. In a tough real estate market, almost perfect and still-in-your-budget is still a big success. Compromise sometimes turns out to be perfection.

What do you think of these real estate rules?

The Internet has turned into a great way for finding real estate.  Websites like facebook, myspace, and twitter are being used to advertise houses and apartments for sale or rent.  A study found that people are most trusting of real estate agents that are family or friends, and working in the social media forum allows people to get to know their real estate agents and make friends with them.  In addition to typical social media sites, there is trulia.com, a website just for marketing houses.  If people recomend a real estate agent on trulia, the recomendation can be forwarded to the agent's facebook page.

"The way people interact is evolving, thanks to social media and other tools. So naturally the way people do business, including how they buy a home, is evolving too," said a product manager for Trulia.

Would you use social media to sell houses?