Michael Gracie 

Barry Ritholtz: The Pending Home Sales Index is down 12.3%. According the the NAR’s statement about the PHSI, that is a negative for the next two months. While their press release emphasizes the 5.3% monthly gain in June, we have demonstrated in the past why that amount to little more than the usual seasonality, as [...]

Linkfest Link Barrage Tidbits on real estate and oil, since this last weekend was about sun and fun (at least around here). After reporting homes sales were up 4% in New Jersey for the first quarter, the NAR decided that was a tad too optimistic. Revised first quarter…down 30%. As it turns out, a member [...]

I’m not sure if The Associated Press is now a subsidiary of the National Association of Realtors, but their headlines sure make them seem that way… Home sales unexpectedly rise in April : Sales of new homes rose in April for the first time in six months although the unexpected increase still left activity near [...]

Barry Ritholtz, what say ye? How else can you explain their shameless twisting of their own data? Don’t these damn fools realize that they have simply lost all credibility? I have heard more than a few Real Estate agents complain that sellers have unrealistic expectations of prices, due in large part to the ongoing and [...]

Realtor spin, in chart form (and with lovely footnotes). (h/t to The Big Picture)

Barry Ritholtz of The Big Picture, on the National Association of Realtors… My apologies for lumping in the Realtor’s group with drug abusers. In doing so, I meant no insult to the crackheads of the world… Heh.

More “Narbage” Talk about an understatement. The “slippage” the NAR refers to was a 23.4% year-over-year freefall. The term “slip” might not adequately capture the data. Plummet, plunge, nose-dive, crash, tumble or freefall might work. But “Slip?” Gee, that doesn’t quite capture the true essence of the data… – Barry Ritholtz

Richard Gaylord sounds like a real estate get rich quick infomercial. The sad part is, few if any that listen to the NAR’s advice are getting rich. While Gaylord touts boldfaced lies scripted to lure ill-informed purchasers into borrowing beyond their means research from within his “organization” (which has been wrong without recourse for two [...]

Nobody should care about this except the National Association of Realtors, who sole purpose is to promote transactions (not smart, stable homeownership). Mortgage rates are also dropping, making homes more affordable to those able to get financing. The Realtors group’s affordability index in November and October was at the highest level in more than two [...]

Hilarious (for some). Amazon reviews are either incredulous, or smell like complete shills. I wonder if Lawrence Yu, Lereah’s predecessor, will follow him up with “How To Impress Your Friends In Good Times And Bad,” (with a pullout on negotiating the US Bankruptcy Court system)? UPDATE: Meanwhile, here’s a summary of the NAR’s “predictions” over [...]