Is the main-stream media creating a self-fulfillling prophecy? I.E. The Housing Bust???

"Call Paul" @ (563) 508-1649, 24 Hours a Day, 365 Days a Year!!

I, for one, am becoming more and more concerned with the perception among REALTORS, and increasingly, consumers as well, that we (The United States, as a whole) are in the middle of some horrible real estate "Bust", and that we are all headed for a depression the likes of which we haven't seen since Pre-World War II times.

In looking at the nightly news-casts from both the main-stream, old-guard, network media (NBC, CBS, ABC, etc) as well as many of the cable news purveyors (CNBC, MSNBC, and even to some degree, Fox News Channel), we all will soon be living in card-board boxes, looking for scraps to eat out of dumpsters, and that, overall, the world is about to come to an end---all due to the declines (or is it a stabilization?) in the housing markets in SOME areas of the country.

My real concern with this is that such perceptions (albeit based somewhat in a reality that is occurring in certain areas and market-segmants of the country), is that these perceptions can very easily create a "Self-Fulfilling Prophecy" in which consumers hear these horrible scenarios of a housing bust, become overly (and unjustifiably) frightened of entering the housing market.... And, all because of the diet of bad news that they are being force-fed on a nightly basis from watching the evening news at dinner time.

If people become convinced that all the "available" housing data is "bad, very bad", They will understandably hold off, or worse yet, postpone all-together, their decision to buy the most important asset, from a financial standpoint, that they will ever own..... a home...

And, when these buyers won't buy, all based on a perceived fear, the real demand for housing will fall even further....

While it is true that in most markets throughout the United States, the days of double-digit annualized appreciation are only a distant memory, it is equally true that most news on the job market (as a whole) are pretty decent-- relatively low unemployment, new job creation, etc. The inflation rate is slightly higher, but still nothing like it was in the 1980's. And, most importantly, the interest rate for home-buyers with decent credit is still very reasonable. And for those with an excellent credit rating, the rates are still under 6%..

For anyone out there who thinks that I am only being naive, or some how living in a dream world (because I "can't possibly comprehend what is going on in their particular market")...Let me tell you this...... I live in area that was ONCE the "Tractor Capital of the World (John Deere, Caterpillar, Case, International Harvester, etc)....I was 18 years old in 1979 and lived through the farm crisis of 1979-1985, the 25% unemployment rates throughout the early to mid 1980's---- I saw people who went from making $30,000/year (a lot of money in 1980) to earning $2.05/hour slinging hamburgers at Mickey-D's....

And for those who were lucky enough to have a decent job and qualify for a new home purchase, they were down-right thrilled if they could find a loan rate that was under 20% interest..... No Kidding... And don't even get me started on the foreclosures (both residential and agricultural) of the 1980's---- it was a blood bath.....

So, in short, I think that I can safely say that I know what a real housing bust looks like.....

And this (Today, in 2007) sure the heck isn't it.......

"Call Paul" @ (563) 508-1649, 24 Hours a Day, 365 Days a Year!!

Paul David Hiebing, REALTOR

"The Quad-Cities Premier First-Time Homebuyer's Specialist"

Licensed in Iowa and Illinois

Grampp Realty/GMAC Real Estate
2500 18th Street
Bettendorf, Iowa 52722
Website: http://www.gmacrealestate.com/paulhiebing/
Office Phone:(563) 359-4401 Ext # 264
Cell Phone: (563) 508-1649
Office Fax: (563) 359-4405