San Diego condo auction closed to press

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We had a coach in high school who often followed up his criticisms by saying, ‘The truth hurts, doesn’t it?’ Yes, sometimes the truth does hurt. But there are ways to avoid the hurt, aren’t there? As D.R. Horton is doing today in San Diego, you can keep the press out of your condo auction.

News item from the Union-Tribune: ‘D.R. Horton, the nation’s largest builder, is limiting attendance at its planned auction Saturday of condominiums at two local developments, according to the firm it hired to run the event. Late Friday afternoon, Real Estate Disposition Corp. (REDC) said that only registered bidders with $5,000 in cash or cashier’s check would be permitted to attend.

More: “’We are going to be closing the auction to the press tomorrow,’ said Michael Schack, senior vice president of REDC. ‘We are only allowing registered bidders in. We are not allowing cameras, photography, press, media. It is not our choice.’’

Our take: If we ran a large homebuilding company, and had overbuilt to the extent we had to resort to auctions, we’d probably close the auctions to the press too. How does coverage of the auction help D.R. Horton? They don’t want potential buyers in Des Moines and San Antonio holding out for the ‘San Diego Discount.’

But if we ran a blog about housing -- and oddly enough we do -- we would report every scrap of information we could get about the auction, so we again ask for your tips and feedback today.

Hat tip: ‘sandiegan’