Now It's A Real Estate Cartel
I have to thank James Thorner, author of the (in)famous (Un)Real Estate column in the St. Petersburg Times, for supplying me with loads of grist for my blog site commentaries.
Today's jottings from him had me laughing so hard I spilled my morning coffee, thus convincing me I had to write something myself. You must read Thorner's column in the business section of the Friday, March 20th, Times. But be careful with your mug of mud.
In a nutshell, Thorner says there was (or maybe is) a group of real estate insiders who conspired to control real estate prices. He writes that they are an informational cartel of well placed insiders who aid real estate insiders by fleecing outsiders. This more than anything else, he contends, helped to bring down the housing market.
So who are these all-powerful cartel members?
According to Thorner, they consist of central bankers, government regulators, Wall Street, the National Association of Realtors, and the Mortgage Bankers Association.
What proof does Thorner present for this cartel theory? None. When did these groups gather to fix prices and develop their "whisper campaign" to drive prices up and down? Not disclosed. Where did such meetings take place? Doesn't say. What was their motive in controlling real estate prices as a group? No comment. Why did they want to have such price control? No reason stated. Who were the powerful individuals involved in the cartel? They're nameless.
In fact, there is no evidence anywhere in the story that any of these things ever took place. There is not one factoid in the story that would indicate that this is anything other than James Thorner's fertile imagination at work once again trying to fix blame on organizations and individuals for rising and falling real estate prices. So, it's fiction disguised as op-ed. Op-ed should be based on some kind of verifiable facts though, don't you think?
Markets rise. Markets fall. It has to do with supply and demand. It has to do with the availability of finance money. It has to do with changing zones of population. It has to do with investment opportunities. It has to do with a gazillion other reasons. But until I hear otherwise, it has nothing to do with some mysterious real estate cartel in some ivory tower with the desire and power to fix real estate prices.
On a more serious note, once again I ask why the St. Petersburg Times continues to publish such unsupported accusations from Thorner? This is not the first time he has filled his column with such dribble. Does the paper have any responsible journalists acting as editors anymore? Or can writers just come up with stuff from the back of their minds and publish it without regard to the veracity of what they write or the impact it might have on readers?
People believe what they read in the newspaper. Now, we might end up with a bunch of folks and government investigators running around looking for some non-existent cartel that has been controlling real estate prices around Florida and perhaps the entire nation. Geez, don't we have enough legitimate problems and investigations going on in this country? Do we need a bogus investigation of a cartel that never existed? Do we need more erosion of trust in banks, Wall Street, real estate agents, and the government?
I'm no longer man enough to say that I am involved in journalism. But back when I was a kid in the journalism school at the University of Florida, I think on page 2 of the basic fundamentals of reporting textbook it talked about writing the truth and checking and double-checking your sources. Maybe the guys and gals at the Times need to go back and review that page. Or at least, perhaps Thorner should just review that section of the book. The words you write in a newspaper have an impact on how people think, act and perform. When you write unsubstantiated junk you run the risk of getting wrong-headed actions from readers. Is that what the Times wants?
At least the Times should label Thorner's latest column as "FICTION" so nobody takes it seriously. Why not? We put warning labels on cigarettes, booze, drugs, food, electrical gadgets, batteries and thousands of other products. Why not a label warning readers "not to believe anything in the following commentary because there is no evidence that it is true"?
Until I see it proven that there exists a real estate cartel who conspired to fix prices, I will just continue to laugh at Thorner's comments. But if I spill my coffee one more time ...
For more information on real estate in the Tampa Bay area, please visit my website at www.TheStPeteRealEstateSite.com.
Today's jottings from him had me laughing so hard I spilled my morning coffee, thus convincing me I had to write something myself. You must read Thorner's column in the business section of the Friday, March 20th, Times. But be careful with your mug of mud.
In a nutshell, Thorner says there was (or maybe is) a group of real estate insiders who conspired to control real estate prices. He writes that they are an informational cartel of well placed insiders who aid real estate insiders by fleecing outsiders. This more than anything else, he contends, helped to bring down the housing market.
So who are these all-powerful cartel members?
According to Thorner, they consist of central bankers, government regulators, Wall Street, the National Association of Realtors, and the Mortgage Bankers Association.
What proof does Thorner present for this cartel theory? None. When did these groups gather to fix prices and develop their "whisper campaign" to drive prices up and down? Not disclosed. Where did such meetings take place? Doesn't say. What was their motive in controlling real estate prices as a group? No comment. Why did they want to have such price control? No reason stated. Who were the powerful individuals involved in the cartel? They're nameless.
In fact, there is no evidence anywhere in the story that any of these things ever took place. There is not one factoid in the story that would indicate that this is anything other than James Thorner's fertile imagination at work once again trying to fix blame on organizations and individuals for rising and falling real estate prices. So, it's fiction disguised as op-ed. Op-ed should be based on some kind of verifiable facts though, don't you think?
Markets rise. Markets fall. It has to do with supply and demand. It has to do with the availability of finance money. It has to do with changing zones of population. It has to do with investment opportunities. It has to do with a gazillion other reasons. But until I hear otherwise, it has nothing to do with some mysterious real estate cartel in some ivory tower with the desire and power to fix real estate prices.
On a more serious note, once again I ask why the St. Petersburg Times continues to publish such unsupported accusations from Thorner? This is not the first time he has filled his column with such dribble. Does the paper have any responsible journalists acting as editors anymore? Or can writers just come up with stuff from the back of their minds and publish it without regard to the veracity of what they write or the impact it might have on readers?
People believe what they read in the newspaper. Now, we might end up with a bunch of folks and government investigators running around looking for some non-existent cartel that has been controlling real estate prices around Florida and perhaps the entire nation. Geez, don't we have enough legitimate problems and investigations going on in this country? Do we need a bogus investigation of a cartel that never existed? Do we need more erosion of trust in banks, Wall Street, real estate agents, and the government?
I'm no longer man enough to say that I am involved in journalism. But back when I was a kid in the journalism school at the University of Florida, I think on page 2 of the basic fundamentals of reporting textbook it talked about writing the truth and checking and double-checking your sources. Maybe the guys and gals at the Times need to go back and review that page. Or at least, perhaps Thorner should just review that section of the book. The words you write in a newspaper have an impact on how people think, act and perform. When you write unsubstantiated junk you run the risk of getting wrong-headed actions from readers. Is that what the Times wants?
At least the Times should label Thorner's latest column as "FICTION" so nobody takes it seriously. Why not? We put warning labels on cigarettes, booze, drugs, food, electrical gadgets, batteries and thousands of other products. Why not a label warning readers "not to believe anything in the following commentary because there is no evidence that it is true"?
Until I see it proven that there exists a real estate cartel who conspired to fix prices, I will just continue to laugh at Thorner's comments. But if I spill my coffee one more time ...
For more information on real estate in the Tampa Bay area, please visit my website at www.TheStPeteRealEstateSite.com.
-30-
posted by Terry Ward at 3:55 AM
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