At various points in the last few years it has been suggested to me that I should write a book. A book about real estate in general or the housing bubble specifically, from my unique perspective as an engineer turned real estate analyst.
As one of my coworkers recently put it: “Kendra Todd wrote a book, so how hard could it really be?”
I’m not saying that I am definitely up to the very time-consuming task of writing a (high-quality, worthwhile) book, but if I were going to pen my own tome, I’m curious to hear your thoughts about what you would be most interested to read.
Here are some of the subjects that I’ve considered:
- An unbiased how-to for home buying and selling. Provide practical advice and explanations of the process, including non-agent FSBO and lawyer-only options.
- A witty / humorous retelling of the history of the housing bubble (would include much of the material I use here for Friday Flashbacks).
- A how-to for analyzing the real estate market in your own local area—basically a training manual that would teach someone how to do what I do in their own area.
I feel like the first option above is the most crowded market, with dozens of books on the topic already. However, most of the existing books in that space were either written by real estate agents (and therefore are biased in various ways) or are outdated and include amusingly terrible advice about future expectations for home value appreciation.
The second option would probably be the most fun for me to write, and third idea would most likely be the easiest for me to write, but I wonder whether anyone would really care to read either of them.
So what are your suggestions? If you could have your way, what’s the real estate or housing bubble book you’d like to see written, and why?