The 4 Reasons I’m Skeptical of Real Estate “Opinion” Articles

[Don Konipol]

They’re well written, seem to be well researched, and always timely.  But, here’s why I’m skeptical of opinion articles

1. The writer is predicting the future, based on current information.  Seems like we’ve been wrong in this endeavor as much or more than we’ve been correct.  It’s only clear AFTER the fact.

2. The person writing the article is usually a very good writer - not necessarily an expert in what they’re writing about.  

3. The information base utilized is often bias, self selected, and often irrelevant to the point the writer is trying to make.  Further, the writers conclusions are usually “a stretch” based on the data we have. 

4. The articles conclusions MAY be self serving - we need to look closely  to perceive any motivations for WHY the writer is producing the article. 

Yes, the articles are well written, seem to be well researched , and always timely.   And more often than not they’re just plain wrong. 

[Jonathan Greene]

Number 2 is the one I see the most. Good writing, lack of knowledge on the historical context of the industry (outside of statistics). Most "articles" these days are not articles or even real opinions, they are clickbait for memberships or something else. Newspapers are dead and bringing them all online has only lessened the true journalistic impact which is why you see good writers writing about stuff they just reviewed, but do not know.