There seems to be a lot of finger pointing going on in the Real Estate world today. People want someone to blame for the current market conditions.
Mary Umberger from the Chicago Tribune covered the National Association of Realtors conference held in Las Vegas in mid November. I found a couple of interesting quotes from Lawrence Yun - the Chief Economist for National Association of Realtors.
"Given pent-up demand and historically low mortgage rates, it's a
fairly easy call, from my point of view, that we are in a market
recovery," he said.
That is an interesting set of data used to determine that we are in a market recovery. The second quote really caught my eye.
Yun said that the housing meltdown resulted from a "period of greed"
and blamed mortgage lenders looking for big commissions, global
investors seeking "juicy returns" and bond-ratings agencies turning a
blind eye to risk.
Mortgage Lenders are the reason for the housing slump? Are you kidding me? There are bad lenders out there but I don't think they can accept the lion's share of blame for the current market.
Another theme I have heard lately is to blame the media. "The media just won't let this story die" or "The media is hurting our market". Inman News published an article that I think puts things in proper perspective. This quote says it all:
Another reader, Michael Blomquist, says there is a difference between negativity and "realistic projections":
"Real estate has been hurt by spin, but irrational exuberance has
been much more damaging than negativity could ever be. I for one am
tired of the attacks by those who don't know the difference between
ignorance and optimism. Too many 'optimists' view 'realistic'
projections as negativity and try to discredit those with opposing
views," he wrote.
I believe irrational exuberance from all parities involved is to blame for the current market conditions. Trying to put a positive spin to cover up the facts will not help any market recover. Consumers want facts - not fluff.
The Outer Banks Real Estate Market has been hurt by the slowdown more than the surrounding markets. We rely heavily on the investors and second / vacation home buyers and they stopped the frantic pace of purchasing property in the Fall of 2005.
That being said, I think a legitimate argument can be made that the Outer Banks Real Estate Market might be one of the quickest to recover. With above average reduction in pricing, low interest rates and some very motivated sellers - we might be in for an early spring.