Happy Anniversary to Us!

Saturday (tomorrow) will mark our six month anniversary at the San Diego Home Blog. 96 posts and 415 comments later, we have written on topics ranging from Presale Property Inspections to Termite Inspections, from New Business Models to Agent Licensing, and from Real Estate Fees to Good Escrows to Bad Agents. We’ve talked about Marketing, Technology, Financing and Market Trends. Did all of this silly talk provide value to our clients who follow our blog? I certainly hope so. Providing value through information dissemination is but one way our blogging serves our clients, however.

Smart agents know the value of their professional network to their clients. The network, however, can no longer be limited to the guys at the water cooler, as there is a vast world out there thinking with a different perspective and approaching our business in different ways. Technology is providing access to information like never before, is changing the way we view our world, and is changing our industry by the minute. As agents, a broader perspective makes us more knowledgeable in our profession, and increased knowledge can only translate to improved service and value to our clients. So to mark our impending anniversary, I will offer my linkation love-fest to honor the bloggers in the industry who have most educated me and inspired me to think in larger terms. While this list represents the blogs I count among my favorites, it is by no means inclusive. (In other words, if I didn’t mention you, don’t put pins in the Kris voodoo doll).

• Rain City Guide - Seattle’s finest share insights in a consortium format. I still consider RCG the gold standard, and they were my initial inspiration to start blogging. Ardell (also of Seattle Area Real Estate Blog) and Dustin in particular are fabulous, and have been extremely supportive during my start-up months, for which I will always be grateful.
• Bloodhound Blog - Greg Swan is brilliant, so don’t attempt to read this without a full pot of coffee under the belt. If you aren’t in the proper mental-preparedness state, he can make your head hurt.
• NYHouses for Sale - Christine earned one of the Top Ten Female Blogger spots awarded by Sellsius this past year (and I still think she stole my award). By the way, she deserved it. Her style is down to earth and very readable.
• Sellsius - This shows you what a no-hard-feelings kind of guy I am. Although sadly overlooked in the Top Ten acknowledgement, I am woman enough to admit that their site is part of my essential morning reading. Their schtick is real estate marketing, by the way. (Note to Sellsius: A spot on the mantel has been cleared and dusted in anticipation of next year).
• 360 Digest - Marlow Harris in Seattle offers no-nonsense, intelligent commentary.
• Blue Roof Blog - Greg Tracy out of Utah writes a great blog that appeals to both his local and a national audience. Not easy to accomplish, and something I have always aspired to.
• The Phoenix Real Estate Guy - That would be Jay. He has stopped in here from time to time, and I make it a point to stop by his blog every morning. I always pick up something interesting.
• RealCentralVA - Straight from Charlottesville, Jim Duncan sounds off. I always appreciate someone who thinks like I do. To my horror, I just realized that Jim is not on our blogroll, a transgression I will immediately correct.
• The Real Estate Tomato - Another great technology site (and another blogroll omission - eek!).
• Behind the Curtain - Jeff Brown, my local partner in crime, spins some fabulous yarns about real estate investing. If you fancy yourself an investor, this is the blog for you.
• Sacramento Real Estate Blog - This is a stats-heavy site devoted almost entirely to local market updates. I include John Lockwood’s project as a big thank you, as he was the first “include me in your blogroll please” call I made, and he was gracious enough to accommodate me.

So, I will be taking the weekend off (from blogging) to celebrate our first milestone. Actually, my goal is to update our Wordpress software. If you see a big black hole where our blog used to be on Monday, you will know it didn’t go well. Wish me luck.