There are lots of news stories dealing with issues concerning those of us working with commercial and residential real estate matters, however the internet also offers us the opportunity to learn how to interpret the events as they happen. 

It's one thing to read about the latest ForeclosureGate scandal; it's another to ponder its impact upon the Miami economy and particularly, things like commercial leasing; land development; construction; franchises; real estate finance, etc.  Some great, free online resources for this type of analysis are:

1. Property Profs Blog - a blog giving a professorial perspective on current real property and contract issues written by D. Benjamin Barros, Associate Professor of Law at Widener University School of Law and having as contributing editors Alfred L. Brophy, Reef C. Ivey II Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law; Stephen Clowney, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law; Mark A. Edwards, Associate Professor of Law at William Mitchell College of Law; and Tanya D. Marsh, Assistant Professor at Wake Forest Law School.

2.  The Bigger Pockets Real Estate Blog - edited by Joshua Dorkin, founder of Bigger Pockets, and with 18 regular contributors from a variety of real estate niches, this site provides daily input on a variety of issues that impact the residential and commercial real estate markets in an easy to read format and from a street-smart viewpoint.

3.  Calculated Risk - described by Time Magazine as " ...among the most thoughtful and thorough financial commentary on the internet. Period," this six-year old blog is written by Bill McBride, a retired senior executive from an unnamed corporation with MBA from the University of California, Irvine. Highly respected, this blog covers a number of finance topics, but does have a dependable focus on real estate topics.

4. The Wall Street Journal offers several good reads, including its Deal Journal (discussing various big events where "money changes hands") and its Law Blog (discussing, well - law and lawyers).

5. Heard Along the Coast published by the South Florida Business Journal and offering commentary by editor Kevin Gale, reporter Paul Brinkmann, and web editor Susan R. Miller on a variety of news stories that impact our local community.