Virtue Pimps
Real-estate agents have been pushing the virtues of homeownership since homes were invented. Or since real-estate agents were invented, anyway. Paying a mortgage, they insist, is a can’t-miss investment (the tax breaks, the appreciation, the thrill of fixing your own roof!). Renting is for simpletons who don’t like keeping their own money.
–USNews story featured on Yahoo! landing page
I Must Have Fallen Asleep… Wait, What?
I’m sorry but I must be missing something here. Isn’t this the same Yahoo! Real Estate that used to be all over Prudential’s jock? The same Yahoo! that was uber Realtor-friendly in hopes of establishing a national MLS (the universal goal of most media companies who see dollar signs when it comes to real estate)? Wasn’t Yahoo! courting major national brokerages so they could leech their IDX feeds? Is this the same Yahoo! that has 8 million reasons on the sidebar to counterintuitively click OFF the site (including those fancy Zestimates)? Perhaps the same Yahoo! Real Estate that could potentially have lowered traffic issues to the point that they need to start disruption against the industry that butters their bread that Yahoo! Real Estate couldn’t possibly exist without? Well sure, it works in bubble blogging- soapbox when you’re down and scream as loudly as you can so people hear you even if they don’t want to (and they vomit a bit at every word they see).
Real Estate Agents Invented Stupidity, Huh?
So are people like Jeff Brown (national investment broker), Barry Cunningham (Florida investor) and Jonathan Dalton (Arizona agent who shifts many many Canadian investment dollars to the US) all ignorant because they’ve sunk time and money into real estate investing? They still own property- for the long term investment (who pays for the roof in this scenario?). Are hard working REALTORS like Vicki Moore, Greg Swann, Russell Shaw, Kevin Boer, Jay Thompson, Chris Shouse and Teresa Boardman all stupid for waking up every day and helping people buy their second, third or twentieth home? Should Realtor Association executives like Ben Martin, Dr. Mark Dotzour, Bill Lublin and Brad Nix all wear protective helmets so they don’t hurt themselves with the simple act of walking around? Are brokerages that aim to change the face of real estate like Redfin, Zip Realty and Buyside all just dumb monkeys because they are a resource for home buyers and sellers? Despite the Zillow affiliation, the implication is that Zillow must be a crayon short of a full box too by providing a platform for people buying, selling and planning for either. Are most major universities moronic because they offer graduate degrees in real estate (which do not focus strictly on rental markets)? Because the national market average isn’t so hot, should all real estate professionals advise that renting is better because buyers won’t have to fix the roof out of pocket?
I’m confused, because the stats here in Austin actually look good, values in general are up and although home sales are down, we are still averaging between 97-98% of asking price from what I understand. So, you’re saying that Realtors should get all those stupid homeowners who pay for their roofs to get fixed out of their homes and abandon them and run away to apartments? Oh wait, you mean that agents are stupid and homeowners should just walk away.
Reckless, Ignorant, Hasty, Dangerous, Shall I Continue?
But for who’s good- the consumer’s or Yahoo! Real Estate’s traffic? Seriously, what is Yahoo! really telegraphing here? Did we just get a glimpse into the future of Yahoo! Real Estate’s portal by their choice of which article to feature on their *landing* page? I’m sure there was a point in the article and it was good, probably even backed up by fact, but it was immersed in a sea of ignorance and I was too busy rolling my eyes to catch it. As a consumer, I am offended as this article calls into question my own judgment along with millions of other Americans with blanket statements about “THE” market. There are not enough adjectives to describe how irresponsible this type of distortion truly is regardless of whose salary increases next year.
