Why rely on blogs when any realtor will give you a fair, balanced and honest assessment of market conditions without spin, exaggeration or self-interest?

p.s. For those of you who believe this, I have some land in Florida and a bridge in the Greater New York area that you have GOT to see — It’s a great time to buy!

How typical, more “blame the messenger” nonsense from the real estate industry… I wonder if they were complaining when the media were trumpeting the build up in prices during the bubble years?

Classic line from this realtor – “great return on your investment”.

That’s pretty much defines the moment when things went crazy. It’s not an investment, it’s a home.

This realtor apparently is solely concerned with her income stream and not an analysis of whether buying now would represent a huge financial mistake that could take years to recover from. Anyone who does not do that analysis themselves is making a huge error. You need to analyze price reductions and cash back and other factors to consider whether buying makes sense now.

I imagine this realtor encouraged people to buy at all costs or be “priced out forever” as well.

Virtually every realtor group has been amazingly wrong on every aspect of the housing downturn, including whether prices would decline, how long the decline would last and how severe it would be.

Why anyone would put much credence on the advice of someone affiliated with these groups, that have been wrong every step of the way, and whose own income is dependent on a sale, is a mystery to me.

This is a really great post Anna. Kudos to you. Very thoughtful.

yeah, i think it’s pretty silly to say that blogs or realtor speak is driving the market down. the market is powerful and the forces that control it are heavily influenced by high-level factors including financing, demand, confidence, scarcity, etc. to even insinuate that blogs are perpetuating the downturn is a joke to me. as far as i’m concerned, if the whole story is told (including the reduced prices), folks may actually be able to find a deal! i’m an agent, i wouldn’t mind prices coming down in sF so that my clients and friends could actually buy a place! as for my sellers, they seem to be doing fine and those that have sold in the last year or so may not have seen their highest return (as if they would if they sold at the “top”), but they are still seeing one.

You all have to realize that constant negativity does indeed affect people’s moods. They get scared and won’t buy, or the seller now can’t achieve the price he wants, because of the perception of lesser value that is after all just a perception. If you need an example of the power of panic, look no further than the Great Depression

janssen—

i completely agree, 100%. that said, in today’s world, people should take it upon themselves to research with more than one source. should there be patterns, then, perhaps, there is a major problem. i hear what you’re saying though and the media really does have an affect on moods and behavior.

Instead of merely claiming that R.E. now is a great “investment,” why doesn’t our friendly R.E. agent produce some numbers as to why buying a house now will net you greater returns than alternative investments (stocks, muni bonds, T-Bills, foreign stocks, hedge funds/private equity for those rich enough to buy in)? I’ve posted up numbers here right and left showing that, sure, for some areas (San Leandro, certain other ‘hoods), it probably makes sense to buy and not rent (but it’s not a great “investment”–it just beats the alternative of renting). In other areas (SF almost in its entirety), it does not make sense to buy. Where’s the support for her claim? In all the reports on long-term housing market ratios, valuations etc, I’ve never once seen “emotional distress” as a factor in R.E. valuations. I’d love to see some real evidence for her claim that it 1) has an effect or 2) R.E. is a “good investment” in, say, SF.

Um, proof that SF property appreciates? Try any data anywhere

Sure SF property appreciates. Well, except for 1989-1997. Whoops. Hope you didn’t buy in 1989 and had to sell in 1992. Chances are you lost (a lot) of money. Sure, it might appreciate over 30 years. Too bad the median time the average American spends in a house is about 7 years.

Panic causing the Great Depression?? Give me a break. It might have caused a few bank failures, but it wasn’t the panic that caused the Depression, just like reporting on falling prices doesn’t cause falling prices.

As for buying a house being a “great investment” that implies that it is a superior vehicle to producing returns on your cash invested. Oh really? I’d like to see her numbers on why buying a house now in, say, SF, will produce a superior return on investment to another investment class. Heck, I’d like to see why buying now in SF is better than renting? What assumptions is she invoking? In that quote, she’s just spewing hot air. I’m calling BS.
That’s all.

This is funny. Actually, it’s kinda sad. Many realtors are bitter in this environment and just aren’t able to handle the reporting of solid advice and information, especially if it means lower transactional volume for these buyers’ agents.

Most realtors just have no understanding of simple economics. Unfortunately, most only understand the CAR or SFAR sales contract (even sometimes that is a stretch!) and how to calculate commission.

Blogging is not mainstream enough to truly influence a large amount of people IMO, but when it reaches the front pages of the Chron, WSJ, NYT, etc. it can do damage. But usually once it hits these places’ front pages it is already well underway and not ahead of the curve.

DG: You are the funny one. If David needs data to back up Maggie’s assertion that now is a good time to buy a home, then I also need data to back up the assertion that “most” Realtors don’t know anything about investing or fiscal responsibility. “Most” Realtors whom I know and work with are very savvy investors and doing extremeley well. Much of that wealth comes from buying and selling homes, which means the market is very kind indeed to sellers, that we have plenty of buyers, and that agents DO know what they are doing

A lot of stock brokers are quite well off too. Doesn’t mean their clients do as well based on their advice. their motive is to do transactions, not to make you money.