Would you buy a house from this man ?

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Jim Klinge reminds me of a line from the 1980 film ‘Serial,’ a satire of suburban California: ‘In an insane world, the sane man must appear to be insane,’ says a wise kid in the movie, invoking Star Trek.

Klinge’s blog began in 2005, and has provided an ongoing, searing critique of the real estate industry and its role in pumping up home prices ever since. There are plenty of housing bubble blogs, but few by a real estate broker who identifies himself.

That Klinge’s continuous rage against the real estate machine gets him business says something about the industry: At least some people prefer Klinge’s blunt, confrontational style to the ceaseless cheerfulness more common among real estate types.

He calls himself ‘Jim the Realtor’ on his blog, but as our Times profile shows, he could also be ‘Jim the Anti-Realtor.’

--Peter Y. Hong