ID Theft Product » 1658 http://idtheftproduct.com Mailboxes, Shredders, Software & Services Fri, 21 Dec 2007 21:29:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 en The National Association of Realtors’ one trick pony needs a trip to the glue factory http://idtheftproduct.com/2007/12/10/the-national-association-of-realtors%e2%80%99-one-trick-pony-needs-a-trip-to-the-glue-factory/ http://idtheftproduct.com/2007/12/10/the-national-association-of-realtors%e2%80%99-one-trick-pony-needs-a-trip-to-the-glue-factory/#comments Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:27:37 +0000 http://idtheftproduct.com/2007/12/10/the-national-association-of-realtors%e2%80%99-one-trick-pony-needs-a-trip-to-the-glue-factory/ Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, says housing is looking up, citing increased “mortgage availability” due to a shift - government sponsorship of loans to less creditworthy borrowers is replacing traditional lending channels. This is discomforting for two reasons:

  • Yun and the NAR have (for going on two years) repeatedly denied the existence of a housing downturn; and
  • The lender of last resort has increasingly become the US taxpayer, and the NAR thinks that’s great.

The NAR also noted pending home sales are rising, but you won’t see many reports about the length of time from contract signing to closing, which is better indicator of mortgage availability, or how many of their “pending contracts” actually wind up closing.

This is the National Association of Realtor’s one trick pony - consistently pumping out positive, yet highly questionable, data with the intent of persuading yet a few more buyers into the market. It’s no surprise that while they were calling “all’s great” since 2006, the very people buying are now the ones that seem to be in the most trouble. The NAR says these things knowing fully that as a not-for-profit trade association they won’t be held accountable.

Maybe the next one to call out the NAR should be a glue factory called the Federal Trade Commission.

IN OTHER NEWS: Investors in mortgages continue to struggle with getting hold of their collateral. Yes, continue.

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Original post by Michael Gracie

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