Regular readers to this blog will know who Dr. David Lereah is. If you don’t, he is the biggest real estate cheerleader there ever was. David is a Senior Vice President and Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Dr. Dave has been one of the biggest anti-bubble spokesmen on the scene, which is expected given the organization he is a spokesman for. However, it seems that Dave and the NAR are quickly changing their story. Why you ask? If there is no bubble why would they change their story so quickly? Well, it’s because they always knew there was a bubble, but they did everything they could to keep the party going. Now that it’s obvious the real estate market is going to take a significant downturn in the upcoming year, they are covering their backsides.
Lereah made some comments a few days ago, that caused many people to double take. In fact, I needed to read the article two or three times, I just didn’t believe these words came out of Lereah’s mouth in this article:
Housing Boom Fading, Leading Real Estate Economist Says
“The boom is showing some signs of tiring,” David Lereah, chief economist with the National Association of Realtors, said Friday.
“We are projecting a significant drop in the price appreciation pace,” Lereah said.
But even though the velocity of the housing market will subside, “we are looking for a soft landing,” he told real estate agents from across the country who are meeting in San Francisco.
“Some markets are more susceptible to interest rate risks and shock,” he said. “I cannot guarantee that there will be no hard landings.”
When David Lereah, Chief Economist and Head Cheerleader for the NAR says there is a possibility of a hard landing, run, do not walk, to the nearest exit. This is no time to be thinking about, or actually buying a home. To all the prospective buyers on the market. Sit tight, your time is coming.
Caveat Emptor!
Grim
David Lereah will be the next irving Fisher. HAHAHAHAHA
In 1929 Yale University economist Irving Fisher stated confidently: “The nation is marching along a permanently high plateau of prosperity.” Five days later, the bottom dropped out of the stock market, ushering in the Great Depression, the worst economic downturn in America’s history. Although the Great Crash is viewed as the starting point of the Great Depression, it wasn’t the sole cause. This lecture examines the roots of the Great Crash and the effect of the Great Depression on the American public.
Lereah is the biggest pump in history and should be held accountable for his idiotic hype.
Lereah is a paid mouth pi=ece for the real estate industry. I hope Spitzergoes after these people as he went after Wall Street brokerages and internet analyst.
Look what this greedy pump wrtote.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385514344/104-9797982-2855946?v=glance&n=283155&v=glance
He is probably saying it to cover himself from any upcoming legal trouble. He is not an economist. He is a saleman with a PhD in economics.