You know you’ve struck a nerve with your parents when they start calling you by your full name (“Lisa Marie Jacobs, get in here!”). Well, apparently you know you’ve struck a nerve with Curbed when they start referring to you as “realtors” (instead of “our friends”). A bit strange considering that nobody at SocketSite is a Realtor.
Yes, our Editor in Chief holds a real estate license (haven’t we already been through this?), but that just means that he has a basic understanding of real estate practice (like how a certificate of occupancy impacts the ability to close escrow in new construction). And call us crazy, but we actually find this to be a plus when trying to make sense of the real estate market.
And yes, we recently challenged Curbed – gasp! – because we didn’t agree with their read of the market: AB728 wasn’t passed, and sales centers aren’t opening up, because of a market “glut” (if anything, it’s the other way around); the fact that only 10% of units in the Watermark have closed escrow is relatively meaningless at this point (they’ve only recently received their temporary certificate of occupancy); and consumers should pay attention to the sales centers (i.e. they do mean something). And to be honest, we’d fully expect (and welcome) them to do the same.
The real estate market is most definitely changing (hell, we went out on a limb and proclaimed a localized top of the market five months ago). In fact, that’s just one of the reasons we’ll continue to challenge other blogs, Realtors, and columnists. We don’t see any other way to keep our readers ‘plugged in’ to what’s really going on in the real estate market. And that’s what we’re all about.
∙ Exceedingly Large Holes, 3% Down [Curbed SF]
∙ Hello, My Name Is Adam [SocketSite]
∙ Cubed Shoots…And Misses [SocketSite]
∙ Doing it Florida Style [Curbed SF]
∙ Top O’ The Market To You! [SocketSite]
∙ REALTOR© Hoisted Upon His Own Petard [SocketSite]
∙ As Can Inman News [SocketSite]
Oh, come on. Stop bickering. We’re all adults here.
Holly – we weren’t trying to be snarky (or at least not more than usual). We’re glad Curbed is in town, and rest assured that we’ll continue to read and reference them often. Our main point is that we don’t have some nefarious agenda (other than to keep you ‘plugged in’). And that we honestly believe it’s acceptable to publicly challenge another’s thinking or conclusions (including our own).