The (un)official L.A. Land reading list
Work with me on this one: A couple of readers, and a couple of colleagues at The Times, have asked me the same question: what other real estate and economic blogs do you read or recommend?
I'm going to list a bunch and then ask you to do the same in the comments section. I'll try to add your suggested blogs from the comments section into the body of the post. If I have forgotten you or your favorite blog, it's not deliberate -- it is because I am about as organized as Oscar Madison.
The list:
Ben Jones' Housing Bubble Blog
Bubble Markets Inventory Tracking
Calculated Risk
Curbed LA
Dr. Housing Bubble
Exurban Nation (Ventura)
ForeclosureRadar's Foreclosure Truth
Housing Tracker
Irvine Housing Blog
Kate in the Valley's May 5 & Everything After
LA Biz Observed
Lansner on Real Estate (OC Register)
Manhattan Beach Confidential
The Milla Times Journal
Mortgage Insider (OC Register)
The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter
Move Trends
Patrick.net
Professor Piggington's Eco-Almanac
Realty Check with (CNBC's) Diana Olick
Redfin's LA Sweet Digs
The RealEstalker
Santa Monica Distress Monitor
South OC Tracker
Tom Petruno's Money & Co.
Westside Bubble
Westside RE Meltdown
Zillow blog
-- Peter Viles
I know you know more good ones. Add them in the comment section, please.



I've been reading Ben Jones's blog since 2005. He has consistently had the most accurate information out there, especially compared to the ridiculous REIC shills featured in the mainstream press (including the Times, unfortunately). Some of the regulars who comment on his blog are scary smart but have been happy to share their knowledge of what was coming down the pike. Back in 2006 a few of them were delineating exactly what was going to happen to Wall Street and in which order the big banks and investment houses were going to fall.
Posted by: Central Valley Guy | October 31, 2008 at 02:34 PM
Infectious Greed, Naked Capitalism, Across the Curve
Posted by: Tom Lindmark | October 31, 2008 at 02:35 PM
don't forget MillaTimes.com
:-D
Posted by: Milla | October 31, 2008 at 02:45 PM
Yes, I like this post. More reading on the net = less productivity.
Posted by: EL DABE | October 31, 2008 at 02:47 PM
Good list, Peter.
I'd add (in order of my preference for the witty writing and information utility):
Jim the Realtor's blog: http://www.bubbleinfo.com/
el bee's LB blog; http://www.longbeachhousingblog.blogspot.com/
Golfer x's IE blog: http://housing-kaboom.blogspot.com/
Rob Dawg's ventura: http://exurbannation.blogspot.com/
Posted by: FreedomCM | October 31, 2008 at 02:55 PM
Orange County (south): http://www.southoctracker.com
Posted by: Jones | October 31, 2008 at 03:19 PM
My favorite is Phyllis' LA Real Estate Blog http://los-angeles-real-estate-blog.com/ It's informative, insightful and chock full of helpful interesting links.
Posted by: Carrie | October 31, 2008 at 03:53 PM
These are some blogs that I regularly frequent:
3 Oceans Real Estate: http://3oceansrealestate.com/blog/
Property Qwest Blog: http://www.propertyqwest.com/blog/real-estate-investing.aspx
Hot Property Blog: http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/hotproperty/
Posted by: dee | October 31, 2008 at 03:56 PM
how about the ever-popular implode-o-meter site?
Posted by: mbob | October 31, 2008 at 04:06 PM
The Economist has a blog which gets hopping from time to time (and it's fun to see people addressing each other as "sir.")
Posted by: Uncle Billy, Bitter & Sweet | October 31, 2008 at 04:43 PM
yeah southOCtracker! it's my other source for a sweet, sweet RE fix. Not the same thing as LAL, but it's my local news. Irvine Housing Blog gets too repetitive and gargantuan, and I'm one of those uptight goobers who doesn't like the theme songs.
Posted by: tarbubble | October 31, 2008 at 04:47 PM
Let's not forget http://sfvrealestate.blogspot.com.
Posted by: sfvrealestate | October 31, 2008 at 05:53 PM
Naked Capitalism
The Big Picture
Infectious Greed
Blown Mortgage
:)
Posted by: Morgan | October 31, 2008 at 09:32 PM
Peter,
One blog I believe is a must read is economist Dean Baker's American Prospect blog "Beat the Press" at http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/beat_the_press
Dean was pretty much the first major economist to call the bubble back in 2003, and he has remained consistent in his message ever since. His Beat the Press blog is focused on highlighting poor reporting on economic issues, particularly in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and the NY Times.
Posted by: srla | November 01, 2008 at 04:17 AM
I recommend:
www.housingpanic.com
Keith has referenced LA Land many times in his posts.
A very vociferous blog and has been ahead of the news curve for a long time on the housing bubble and bailout.
aj
Posted by: aj | November 01, 2008 at 10:56 AM
The OCR blog has a good well balanced analysis by Jansner. Many of the blogs listed above are exteme bubble blogs and the "creators" have zero credibility becuase they refuse to reveal their identity. Case in point, many of the more vocal housing speculators on this blog operate their own bubble blog. Also, many of these bogus bubble blogs just cut and paste someone elses analysis. Not very original.
Posted by: shockg | November 01, 2008 at 04:04 PM
I'd add the best of them all:
http://www.homepricetrend.com
Wow
Posted by: Suzi | November 02, 2008 at 02:05 AM
I vote no on the Inland Empire blog. He seems too concerned with personal opinion, telling people how old his scotch is, taking cruises and bashing people and places. He never has anything constructive to say, only negative or regurgitated from other places.
Posted by: Inland Empire | November 02, 2008 at 06:56 AM
Peter, maybe you could add a blogroll, so we can have all of our favorites in one spot.
http://www.westsideremeltdown.blogspot.com
Posted by: latesummer2009 | November 02, 2008 at 02:01 PM
A lot of good information.
The rugged, self-reliant guy I am, I read no one but tea leaves first thing in the morning.
Posted by: MyLessThanPrimeBeef | November 02, 2008 at 06:46 PM
I really like LA Real Estate Blog...
http://www.lareblog.com
I find it's easy to keep up with what the market is doing in my neck of the woods.
Posted by: Summer Roberts | November 03, 2008 at 04:03 PM
Sort of a blog/media outlet hybrid at this point, but I think HousingWire (http://www.housingwire.com) is great...
Posted by: REGuy | November 04, 2008 at 03:54 PM
Please take a look at FourStory at http://www.fourstory.org. It's an affordable housing and transportation advocacy site (which I'm the editor of).
Posted by: Nathan Walpow | November 16, 2008 at 10:34 AM
Thank you for your good article! I read with great pleasure!
Posted by: Peter | July 09, 2009 at 02:28 PM
Wow, I never knew that The rapidly changing landscape of the real estate market That's pretty interesting…
Posted by: Broker Price Opinion | October 08, 2009 at 03:22 AM