Amen. Although– “trust” is a complicated word. It’s not that all realtors are liars (sup, guys), but the level of truthiness has to be a bit bent at times like these.

While there’s an inherent contradiction to working for a real estate company and saying buying is useless, I don’t think it signifies an ultimate turn against the industry. Buying is useless in SOME situations and particular locations, but specificity is the key. The generalizers are really missing both sides of the coin.

Ok, now from that candidate list, how many of them are saying “prices will fall in my market” without implying or flat out saying “but now is still a great time to buy.”

And if you do find one of these rare quotes, how long did it take you?

Agents get paid for closing a transaction, not for providing insight. In this manner real estate agents are a lot like used car salesmen.

So do I trust agents, yes – to make sure a transaction goes through and to make sure it complies with the law. Just not about the direction of the market.

In the grownup world of business, you find that people who stand to profit by selling something to you may, surprisingly, still provide the best advice.

To put it another way, just because someone is a disinterested observer doesn’t necessarily mean that their advice has any value.

As it happens radfun is an internet business model, and the Seattle Bubble is a internet business model. Hmmm?

Yes Real Estate agents work for free all the time. People want free advice, all the time. Many people to feel that the Seattle Bubble is a source of free advice about Real Estate matters.

Real Estate agents provide data to buyers and sellers every day. It’s all free until you get into an agency agreement. You are then provided representation in what has become a quarter to half million dollar transaction.

What happened in Real Estate is that everybody wanted a fun, stress free Real Estate transaction. People wanted the process of a Real Estate transaction to be transparent.

People want the secrets of successful Real Estate buying and selling.

I could start writing today and continue to write until the day I die and still not explain a Real Estate transaction.

Real Estate is a personal choice. There are rules and rules that get broken. I can think of a hundred ways to do a “deal,” today. My deal is different from what you want.

So, yes, I ramble. I try to explain, on a daily basis, but what people at the Seattle Bubble want is a discount. They are looking for something for nothing.

It’s strange that you would harbor such animosity for him, given that you stated in your post that SB readers aren’t in the market for a home anyway. If all he’s doing is scaring away people that are already “frightened” then he’s having zero effect on you and not worthy of your attention.

Do you sell real estate out of altruistic motives? Would you do that work if you didn’t get paid for it, like The Tim did in the site’s very early days? Under capitalism, eventually the market decides whose services are worth paying for. For the time being, anyway, the market suggests that The Tim is a contender. But the market continues to make room for you too, which is great.