I love it when I get fan mail. Here’s a delightful message that a thoughtful reader sent me yesterday:
From: GOD <f███offidiot@youarealoser.com>
Subject:Message Body:
You are a f███ing idiot. You are like the rest of the broken clock con artists that keep preaching doom. You have been claiming Seattle is in a bubble for how many years now? Fact is you are pitching doom while misinforming the suckers who are naive enough to pay attention to your BS because you want to sell ads. Rest assured your ad sponsors shall be notified. Get a job loser.
That last bit wasn’t a hollow threat, either. One of my sponsors forwarded me what was sent to them:
Name: John
Email: [OBVIOUSLY_FAKE]@gmail.comComment: Do you think it’s a goo business idea to sell ads on a website tat has been fear mongering about a bubble in the Seattle real estate market since 2005? The site I am speaking of is seattlebubble.com
Why would any sane reasonably intelligent person who works in the real estate industry sell ads on a site that has been telling people since 2005 that Seattle real estate prices are too high?? I certainly wouldn’t deal with you based on your association with that site because quite simply, it makes you look like an idiot. Why would I trust your judgment???
Another sponsor confirmed getting a phone call from this fun-loving individual as well.
https://twitter.com/deraker/status/852354628108795904
It is probably safe to assume that “John” is not reading the site—or that he ever read anything more than just the title of the site, since I have been anything but a “broken clock.” It’s hard to imagine why someone who is constantly “pitching doom” and always believes that “real estate prices are too high” would buy a house in 2011 and explicitly call the bottom in 2012.
Of course, you would need to demonstrate a capacity for basic reading comprehension in order to understand that twelve years after it was founded, a site called “Seattle Bubble” is not necessarily still promoting the idea that the Seattle-area real estate market is in an overheated bubble.
Lately we have just been posting basic market statistics without a lot of in-depth analysis or insights, and certainly no “doom.” It has been a while since we explicitly addressed the question of whether or not we’re in another bubble, and at the very least this entertaining tirade of ignorance is a good reminder to revisit the subject with some thoughtful analysis. Look for that on these pages soon.
So anyway “John,” I just want to say thanks for the email!