David Lereah, senior vice president and chief economist of the National Association of Realtors(R) for the past seven years, is joining Move Inc. as executive vice president of a new business entity, effective in mid-May.
Move Inc. operates NAR's official Web site, http://www.realtor.com/ and http://www.move.com/.
Not missing a beat, NAR's executive vice president and CEO, Dale Stinton, announced that:
"David is an expert on real estate and the economy, and his stature and expertiseWithin a few weeks, David Lereah will no longer be working at the National Association of Realtors. Mr. Lereah has lost credibility during the past few years, as he cheered the housing bubble and then called a 'bottom' at least four times. Was he forced to leave because he lost credibility?
enhanced NAR's position as the most credible source on economic and policy issues affecting the housing industry in the United States and abroad. We wish him the greatest success in his new endeavor."
Soon, Mr. Lereah will be much less quoted in the mainstream press. Mr. Learah's reign of half truths, manipulations and cheerleading will soon be over.
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It looks like a big rat is leaving a sinking ship.
ReplyDeleteWhat is really scary is that he still is in the real estate business. If he went into the Italian Ice Business,for instance, it wouldn't matter. He'll still have some kind of position of influence at Move Inc.
ReplyDeletetoday is a good day.
ReplyDelete"Soon, Mr. Lereah will be much less quoted in the mainstream press. Mr. Learah's reign of half truths, manipulations and cheerleading will soon be over."
ReplyDeleteI'm sure they can find a replacement. There's always someone to shill. What bubbleheads need to do is pounce on the first sign of dishonesty from the new shill, and then stick it to the NAR as a whole. Lereah is just a symptom of NAR's "it's always a good time to buy or sell" attitude. If realtor commissions were reasonable, this wouldn't be as big of a problem, but coughing up 6% on top of taxes for each sale is ridiculous.
I agree. They'll find a replacement in no time.
ReplyDeleteCNN Money has an article about his resignation. I found this auote from the editor of Realty Times interesting:
ReplyDelete"Blanche Evans, the editor of Realty Times, an online magazine for real estate professionals, said Lereah's outlook for the market is a reflection of his sunny disposition."
Hmmm. So his predictions were based on his disposition. That's funny, I thought economists were scientists who looked at facts dispassionately and draw objective conclusions.
David Lereah Watch got a mention today from Reuters:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN3045809720070430
"There's always someone to shill. What bubbleheads need to do is pounce on the first sign of dishonesty from the new shill, and then stick it to the NAR as a whole. Lereah is just a symptom of NAR's "it's always a good time to buy or sell" attitude"
ReplyDeleteIT'S AN ORGANIZATION OF SALES PEOPLE. Geez.
will Lance follow his leader?
ReplyDelete"IT'S AN ORGANIZATION OF SALES PEOPLE. Geez."
ReplyDeleteIt's an organization of sales people that claims to act on behalf of buyers when it represents them, but doesn't, and claims to give objective advice on market conditions, but doesn't. In other words: it's the dishonesty, stupid.
hmm, for some reason I thought you would be harsher in the post!
ReplyDeleteIt surprises me that move.com or whatever would offer him a senior exec job after the reputation hit lereah got from his actions as NAR chief.
"It surprises me that move.com or whatever would offer him a senior exec job after the reputation hit lereah got from his actions as NAR chief."
ReplyDeleteThe ability to lie (or at least b.s.) with a straight face is always highly valued by businesses at the senior level.
What!?!?!? It's not clear what Move Inc does... but they are tied in with the NAR. In the article they state the they run the NAR's official web site. It looks to me like he's still going to have some control over spinning the facts or flat out lying.
ReplyDeletewill Lance follow his leader?
ReplyDeleteROTFL
Seriously, no buyers that I know are excited... they just have no interest to discuss real estate. It will be interesting to see how things progress as we go through this credit tightening spiral.
Got popcorn?
Neil
"There are no American tanks in Bagdad!"
ReplyDeleteApparently Lereah in the 90's said "Nasdaq is different this time!!".
ReplyDeleteWhich is what they thought with move's stock:
http://chart.finance.yahoo.com/c/my/m/move
that's right - it was $112 in Feb of 2000. and now it's $4.64.
heh heh.
There are actually tons of buyers out there. Walking around any decent DC neighborhood on the weekend, people are all over the place with flyers going from building to building. There's a ton of inventory out there that will take some time to burn off, so it's clearly a buyers' market, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the bottom to fall out.
ReplyDeleteWell, I live in Friendship Heights MD. This weekend there was an open house in the bldg where I live on Willard Avenue. It is a one bedroom, 800 SF, nothing fancy, priced at 329k ... I talked to the agent, He only had two people showing up!! The building is a condo conversion with lots of plumbing problems and noise issues -- they have been fixing the facades for the last six years, not to count the garages. All this this creates loud noise and vibration and dust..... So this unit won't sell unless the price is reduced big time. The same story repeats it self in DC.
ReplyDeleteFrom Ben's blog:
ReplyDelete“‘When you’ve got an oversupply…buyers don’t feel a sense of urgency in buying a home,’ said Lee Robinson of Robinson Realtors. ‘So they shop a lot. They can afford to be picky, and if a home isn’t perfect in every imagined way in the buyer’s mind, there are a lot of other homes to consider on the market.’”
It quoted a realtor noting DC homes were taking typically 130 days to sell... OUCH!
Remember that we're already past the predicted peak sales of the year... (its usually in March or April) but peak inventory isn't until June or July... So in other words, the market it going to turn more toward the buyer's favor. :)
And every investment bank has a prediction out for real estate price declines for 2008. Hmmm...
Got popcorn?
Neil
Excellent post! We discussed in our most recent podcast!
ReplyDeleteAndrew
http://www.InvestorReviewPodcast.com
Hey Neil,
ReplyDeleteHas your company run you out of town yet?
"Remember that we're already past the predicted peak sales of the year... (its usually in March or April) but peak inventory isn't until June or July... So in other words, the market it going to turn more toward the buyer's favor. :)"
ReplyDeleteThere is no such trend. May is just as likely to be the peak for sales (and there's another peak ing the fall), and you seem to have just made up the bit about peak inventory in June or July. Inventory usually peaks both around April/May and again ni September. Nice try.
Remember that we're already past the predicted peak sales of the year... (its usually in March or April) but peak inventory isn't until June or July... So in other words, the market it going to turn more toward the buyer's favor. :)
ReplyDeleteThat is correct. In terms of asking prices, the peak ocurred in March-April, and it was 439K. Prices have now fallen to 435K, down 9.4% from a year ago.
http://www.housingtracker.net/askingprices/DC/Washington-Arlington-Alexandria/
Plus, when you consider that in March, houses were selling for 94.9% of their asking price, compared to 96.9% a year ago, the over sale price drop is even larger.
http://www.mris.com/reports/stats/
"There is no such trend. May is just as likely to be the peak for sales (and there's another peak ing the fall), and you seem to have just made up the bit about peak inventory in June or July. Inventory usually peaks both around April/May and again ni September. Nice try.
ReplyDelete"
Actually, there is a trend that house prices peak in the spring and bottom in the winter. Follow the link to MRIS in the other post, and compile the statistics into a chart instead of just shooting BS out your ass. I've plotted the data and there is a definite trend like Neil described.
ReplyDeletePlus, when you consider that in March, houses were selling for 94.9% of their asking price, compared to 96.9% a year ago, the over sale price drop is even larger.
Thanks, appreciate the link too.
anons, please get user names... its difficult to tell which one I'm having the conversation with. One does nothing by 5th grade quips and is unable to see the logic behind my discussions, cest la vie. Another is bearish armed with facts... Another just disputes and claims anything they don't like is made up...
If you have facts to dispute my comments... post a link please. But to disagree over a month or so and make it sound like an argument is invalid... so silly.
I try to post facts, but I don't mind being corrected. We appear to be entering a 1970's style recession.
Note the drop in TV and car sales? Its hit the wealthier, BMW just reported a small hit in profits (38%). Go to Walmart's and Circuit city's last quarterly reports... things are happening.
Time for the weekend!
Got popcorn?
Neil
Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, Mr Lereah.
ReplyDeleteI'm very bullish on RE for the long term, and don't trust your intentions that much. But Kudos to you for shining the spotlight on Lereah. That guy is a scab in the RE world.
ReplyDeleteNotice the zip code stats on MRIS are now password protected?
ReplyDeletehttp://gazette.net/stories/050407/businew211905_32327.shtml
ReplyDeleteHere is an item about a failed condo conversion in Rockville.
Uh, Neil - you did make it up. You're the one making wild claims. Maybe YOU should back them up for a change.
ReplyDelete