“While home buyers over the past two years have been exceptionally successful with historically low default rates, there is still an elevated level of shadow inventory of distressed homes from past lending mistakes that need to go through the system,”

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist
complete text > http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2011022801?OpenDocument








Gee Whiz By Golly .. Lawrence your right the BUYER'S had zero culpability in this mess ....

The only independent minded thing he says during the day is, "Can you value size that combo for me please?" He is probably just a paid spokesperson with a degree.

Did you ever notice he never makes a definitive forecast, just says that something MAY happen. After the previous person in that position made sweeping predictions of price gains in housing, I guess he's gun shy after Lereach was let go.
By the way, I met Lawrence a few years ago at a very small meeting and found him to be very personable, but slightly formal even one on one.

The past lending mistakes he refers to took place during the same time frame that NAR was claiming "there's no housing bubble". Were they the only parties that didn't hear the noise when that bubble popped? NAR needs to cease believing their own BS.

At some point, even the Captain of the Titanic told the band that they can take a break from playing.

Instead, NAR's got a tour bus (what's the mpg I wonder? 7miles/gallon? or 11?) and they're going on a stupid tour to "promote home ownership!" as if you needed to tell a tenant that owning is better than putting up with roommates, loud neighbors and lazy landlords.

"NAR, park the bus and shut yo' mouf - you're not helping, you're hurting." is my opinion

double post

I just feel that NAR is the closest I have ever come to being forced to join a union and pay dues.....being that I am in a right to work state. Just give me something for the money I am forced to pay, and I don't mean "cooked books". Tired of paying the salary of these people.

Amen.
When REO was not the sale-de-jour and new construction was the "in" thing. Did NAR lobby to force builders to spread the wealth? No the listings went to the agent that developed a relationship with the builder.
Then new construction stops and REOs become the thing. NAR then lobbies to spread the wealth. The banks did open up their vender databases. What many don't know is there were 2 databases. The long time agents with the proven track records and the NAR forced databases that recieve no listings. But it did keep many paying their dues. Kind of like "pay me XXX money" and I'll get you added to a database.

I have given NAR the boot and pocketed the $500 cash. No more NAR. MLS only for me.

Seriously... what do they do? I really have no idea what my $$ would get me if I signed up with them beside being able to put REALTOR(tm)on business cards and getting a big "R" pin.

Very well said. They monopolize the MLS via local boards. I have no use for NAR and any other board of Realtors otherwise, as I just want to access MLS to do BPOs.

we are forced to join NAR, the state board and a local board or we don't get in MLS. Two years ago, there was a $100 fee we had to pay to put in a pool to possibly defend lawsuits regarding this closed MLS concept. Lawsuit never happened, and we never saw our $100. Total crock.

It's like joining a union, without the benefits.
Problem is unions are killing this country. They are the new organized crime. Give us what we want or else. Unions are the main cause of inflation. Reagan was the only one with any guts when he fired the air traffic controllers when they went on strike. But that's a different subject.

I used to think that NAR lobbied on behalf of it's members. Now it lobbies on behalf of the flavor of the month.

I joined NRA a few weeks ago because I feel they do more to promote individual freedoms than NAR. NAR seems to be about making rules for members. Of course, non members don't have to follow the rules. Then the state and local associations then add more rules and if you belong to more than one MLS, there's a different set of rules for each one.

Now NAR has become all about revenue and how can we increase it.

Unions played an important role in protecting the working man (women generally didn't work way back when) with some sense of job security and things like fair pay, retirement assistance and health benefits.
But that was almost 100 years ago. The real downfall, in my opinion, started when public employees started to unionize in the 50's and 60's. My mother was a school teacher while my father was a school principal. She was protected by the union (really the Massachusetts Education Association) while my father, as an administrator wasn't covered.
She's made out really well, thanks to the union. She retired almost 35 years ago and collects her full retirement, one half of my father's retirement and gets free medical.

The ironic part is that she only taught about 25 years or so total but has been collecting for many more than that.