When Ben Jones daydreams, he has visions of Alan Greenspan.
He fantasizes that on nights the Federal Reserve chairman gets restless, he wanders into his den to boot up his computer. But instead of monitoring overnight currency trading, Greenspan links to Jones' interactive Web log, or "blog," to check the pulse of the nation's real estate naysayers — those who see the housing market enveloped in a persistent bubble.
"Maybe he secretly logs on to see what people are thinking," said Jones, an Arizona-based freelance writer. "I've had more than one person tell me it was addicting."
Jones' blog, thehousingbubble2.blogspot.com, is one of the more popular of a growing number of blogs providing news, data, commentary or reports about the sizzling housing market.
Since January, the number of sites related to real estate, excluding Realtors' marketing sites, has jumped 19%, according to online market research firm Hitwise. Some offer consumer information and advice, while Jones' and others are rampant with pessimistic musings about the nation's housing boom going bust.
"It's the best suspense novel you've ever read," said Debbie Daly, a renter in Agoura who is a nonpracticing real estate agent and frequent contributor to Jones' blog. "How it will end, I don't know, but I'm riveted."
OK, let's settle this once and for all. Let's ask Franklin Avenue's in-house prognosticator, whose perfect 2-0 record shows he can see into the future... that's right, it's time for the Return of the Blogger Baby.
Today's edition: We asked Blogger Baby point blank -- Is there a real estate bubble?
Now, while the pundits may be hammering the notions of a bubble and nasty collapse, Evan's a little less alarmed. Here's his determination:
You heard it here first! There is no bubble. Go buy a house.
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