POLITICS
Private Malls are “public” places
At least in California. As noted on the Consumerist - "A shopping mall is a public forum in which persons may reasonably exercise their right to free speech," Justice Carlos R. Moreno wrote in the majority opinion.This case seems very similar to the one that…
GENERAL REAL ESTATE
Three things for Wednesday
The parallels between the Hollywood model and the real estate industry are many - both are based on fear and production rather than art and client representation - and both are changing with extreme rapidity. The only thing I'll add to the "video" brouhaha (if…
BLOGGING
Real estate blogs are international
It's easy to focus on writing for the real estate market within the United States, but real estate (and real estate blogs) is international. (Translated version) Thanks for the link! This reinforces my wife's gift to me this Christmas. Besides, the US Dollar isn't doing…
POLITICS
Learn about the FairTax
The WSJ has a great editorial today (temp free link). The distributional effects of the FairTax have been extensively studied, and although the proposal has distinct advantages for investors and wealth creation across the income spectrum, the greatest benefit of the FairTax is to low-…
GENERAL REAL ESTATE
The NAR Gateway – Preliminary report released
It's been talked about for some time, on and off-line. For consumers - this means that perhaps, eventually you may the one location for all property information - one place to search for homes. No more going to multiple sites to try and get the…
SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION
The HooK’s recap of 2007
Looking over her predictions of 2007, Madam Hook notes: "I see young people in houses," mused the Madam, explaining that the once red-hot housing market would stay cool, with median home prices remaining stable for the first time in years, and making it a good…
BLOGGING
Are (real estate) blogs commercial?
What is the definition of "commercial"? What defines a real estate blog as being "commercial"? If you have a link to an MLS search, are you therefore offering the potential for you to make money, and thus commercializing your blog? Is it possible even to…
SIDEBLOG
Not sure that I like the ads on the new Realtor.com beta
But all in all, it's an improvement. More later.