The National Association of Realtors' Wacky Predictions
Published 9/20/07 (Modified 3/9/11)By MoneyBlueBook
I am currently not a home owner, but just a few months ago I wanted to be one. But now with the housing bubble pop in full swing, I've decided to hold off on my original plans until the housing environment improved. The bubble correction is still rippling through the real estate market, and the effects from the mortgage and credit crisis are likely to last for a while.
The Funniest Prognosticator Of Them All
I have been following the real estate market for some time and try to track the various projections out there. Of all of the market opinions that I follow, there's none funnier than the regularly issued opinion releases by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the largest trade group in North America representing real estate agents.
Prior to and during the recent downturn of the housing market, NAR was represented by their chief economist David Lereah, who served as the association's spokesman and cheerleader on forecasts and trends affecting the U.S. real estate market. He has been frequently criticized by many for his perpetually rosy and outlandish spins on the state of the housing market, and has even been accused of encouraging the rise of the real estate bubble. He finally stepped down from his position earlier this year and was replaced by the new chief economist Lawrence Yun.
I've always found NAR's opinions to be very entertaining. As the real estate ship Titanic slowly sank, you could be sure the NAR's chief spokesman was busy running the decks proclaiming how wonderful of
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