Isn’t it always nice to be noticed? The National Association of Real Estate Editors took notice of Cyberhomes over the weekend, awarding us Best Real Estate Website in the organization’s 59^th annual journalism competition.

The Cyberhomes team is pleased to be honored and aims to continue and improve our consumer resources for home buyers, sellers and owners.

The awards were handed out in a ceremony at NAREE’s annual conference, held in Washington, D.C. The competition is judged by journalism faculty of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. Judges’ criteria included overall graphics presentation, clarity of writing, objectivity, originality and depth of reporting.

Cyberhomes won first prize in the category Best Web Site Solely Devoted to Residential or Commercial Real Estate and/or Home Design.

Holden Lewis, NAREE president and Bankrate.com senior reporter, spoke for the judges: “This site has excellent consumer coverage for buyers and sellers about every aspect of the home sale process. Moreover, it is well written, well designed and easy to navigate. If you’re looking for a house; you should bookmark Cyberhomes, which is, in my opinion, more informative than its competitors. In addition to looking up home listings, you can get information about neighborhoods and schools, and the site’s blog is also useful.”

The Saturday ceremony was one segment of a packed conference agenda that spotlighted efforts the federal government is making to ease the housing meltdown. Attendees visited Capitol Hill on Friday for meetings with congressmen including Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Rep. Kit Bond (R-Mo.). Frank, the colorful chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, didn’t disappoint the group. Frank had this to say about the beleaguered mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: “When the tide goes out, you can see who’s been swimming naked.”

Top officials from the departments of Housing and Urban Development, Treasury and Energy also addressed conference participants. A policy change being considered by one regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Authority (which oversees Fannie and Freddie) would allow distressed homeowners to refinance loan amounts higher than 105 percent of the home’s value, the current limit. Such a change would ease the pain of homeowners in the nation’s hardest-hit real estate markets.

We’ll continue to bring you news on these developments as well as special reports, galleries and other real estate coverage. Visit our Good Reading section and let us know your feedback. -Janine Sieja