This hack tells 'em what they want to hear, I'll give him that. It would be tough to stand up in front of 250 realtors and tell them "housing is collapsing, the Ponzi scheme is over, and you all better look for new work quick!"
Funny how "Lereah" is very close to "Leach"
The chief economist for the National Association of Realtors and the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston said the economy's fundamentals remain strong enough that recently flat housing prices should rise again, starting next year - although at a slower rate than in the past few years.
"The air is coming out of the balloon," said Lereah, who argues that a balloon is a better metaphor than a bubble to describe a market he characterized as going through a temporary price correction rather than a collapse.
"The bubble is not bursting. The solid fundamentals in our economy will keep the real estate expansion alive," Lereah told about 250 real estate agents at the New England Realtors Conference.
Lereah predicted that housing prices nationally will grow about 6 percent this year, compared with 12.5 percent last year.
March 22, 2006
Imfamous NAR economist Lereah predicts housing boom and skyrocketing prices
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7 comments:
I have a bridge to sell him. :-)
CNN had a piece this morning with headline "HOUSING BUBBLE". No question mark! The metaphor that was used...Wooppee Cushion.
The first sensible item I've seen in the MSM. Suggested renting, close watching of local conditions, and refi of exotic loans. They didn't even have a hack from NAR to rebut.
This guy is the Abby Joseph Cohen of the real estate bubble. Whenever there's some bad news, just trot him out to tell everybody how everything is still undervalued.
Notice he used the term "bubble" and "balloon" to describe things. No argument there. He was just disputing whether it was bursting.
The Arizona Republic 3/21 had a very interesting article.
" Listings are up but there will be significant upward mobility in the housing market" .
East Valley Tribune for Mesa/Scottsdale said in one article Tuesday :
You will be kicking yourself for not buying now. We expect 10-15 % appreciation this year.
Obviously, supply and demand does not apply in Phoenix. They had all the numbers there. Tremendous listings that are way UP. Then right below it a record setting home prices chart for Feb 06. Market is way up. And prices at an all time record. Listings through the roof !
What the hell is going on?.......
Totally confused @#!%$$**&^%%
Our western society lives in a 24-hour news cycle and we are conditioned to expect instant gratification in everything from food to wars. The fact that we have to wait 12 to 18 months to see economic changes is outside the time frame for news organizations looking for direct cause/effect stories -- they simply don't get it.
News outlets focus on some specific event and tell us everything is just fine while ignoring the real story that is slowly unfolding.
Don't Ask the Barber (BROKER,REAL ESTATE AGENTS) that 'Do you think I need hair cut?'...
They should give this advertisement at NAR website or any news article they publish like the one Philip Moris do when they do ad for Marlboro(CIGARATTES ARE INJOURIOUS TO HEALTH).:
"REAL ESTATE AGENTS ARE INJOURIOUS TO YOUR WEALTH. PLEASE THINK BEFORE YOU LISTEN TO THEM"
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