What Is It With These Real Estate Columnists, the NAR, And “Green Shoots”?

Lately, whenever I read articles by most real estate columnists, or read stuff put out by the National Association of Realtors I sometimes wonder what planet they are living on. The slightest bit of “this month is not as bad as last month” news and they are trumpeting the market bottom. Or “now is a great time to buy”! I can understand a little bit of cheerleading, but, come on! How about a little bit of objectivity?

The fundamentals stink right now. People are still losing their jobs. Companies are not expanding. Food stamp usage is at an all time high. The governments -federal, state and local - are suffering massive tax receipt reductions. Industries are permanently relocating overseas. Shall I go on, because I could.

For the past eight years I have been reading this stuff by the NAR and “expert” real estate columnists, and it seems it is ALWAYS the best time to buy. Or “we can only go up from here”.

Enough! How about a little honesty. If things are good, great! Talk about it. If things are bad, talk about it, too. If you keep preaching that things are always getting better, in the face of horrible economic news, you will lose all credibility when things actually do turn around.

My stance for now is to ignore anything from the NAR and the green shoot crowds. When they start discussing real world events for a few months I might take them seriously again.