I can’t help it. I like real estate.

Speculating on properties is such an un-eggheady thing. So greedy capitalist with a bad comb over. But I like it. I got hooked during our year of house hunting. I still drop into open houses to snoop and regularly check realtor.com for home prices in town. Steve thinks I’m insane. Why would I spend a beautiful Sunday awkwardly lying to home owners that I plan to buy their home?

I like to think that all of home improvements are increasing our nest egg. When we peeled off the wallpaper in our foyer, I calculated that we earned about $10,000. Home decorating = money in the bank. Wahoo!

Also I’m itchy to invest in a rental property. Do I have the money to start investing in rental properties? Not. But I still like the idea. Driving my kid to his summer school this summer, I scoped out several properties with potential.

Last week, I was quite pleased that Kip in the comment section directed me to Zillow. Today’s Times had a bunch of new sites designed to fuel my Trump fantasies, including Cyberhomes and Eppraisals. (more links in the article.)