One showed signs of life; the other learned it would have to say farewell to a CEO that helped establish the company's local acquisition. Here are the Ann Arbor Business Review picks for last week's winner and loser in the news:

Rise: Washtenaw County’s real estate market

“Good-bye 2009” reads the note from the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors that accompanied the February sales data for the region. The numbers showed year-over-year comparisons that put the first two months of 2010 $5 million ahead of 2009 in volume and 63 units ahead in home and condo sales. That’s good momentum as the area heads into the spring sales season and homeowners - not just buyers and sellers - track home values.

Fall: Johnson & Johnson

The global health company bought Ann Arbor’s Health Media in 2008, acquiring one of the region’s fastest-growing companies. That hasn’t changed. But HealthMedia president Ted Dacko announced he’s resigning from the company, and that’s a loss for J&J. Dacko steered HealthMedia through some business extremes, delivering it from its deathbed to a profitable entity employing nearly 150. It has about 170 employees now and is poised to grow, which is to Dacko’s credit.