It never ceases to amaze me how the media can spin a story any way they want to… and when I see people “drinking the Kool-Aid” I want to scream “THINK!!!”.
So, National Association of Realtors (NAR), just released the June Pending Home Sales Report… and the news is BIG! But what am I reading on every business news website is reporting on the the 1 negative component.
CNBC & others are highlighting that 16% of Contracts of Sale for homes nation wide are not getting to the closing table where in a ‘normal year’ (what ever that is)—it’s 4% that don’t sit down to closing. Then the Chief Economist for NAR says he’s “baffled”… are you kidding??
I think he may be too far from the trenches. To further add insult to injury, the agents they interviewed attributed it to “consumer confidence”… are you kidding?? Are you still on the front line??? Then, of course, they mention the embarrassing stalemate on Capital Hill. Now that is HUGE economic news … but it can’t be blamed for contracts not closing in June… but you’d have to be pretty foolish not to get that! I guess when economic news is that BIG they blame everything on it…. But it’s NOT consumer confidence, it’s not the national debt ceiling,, and with all due respect—it’s not at all “baffling”. Plain & simple, it’s basically 3 elements that have compounded problems for any home buyer today… #1- Appraisals—Appraisers are being ULTRA conservative to the point of WRONG evaluations—but remember they were in the mix of “what went wrong leading to the housing bubble burst”… so now they are calling ALL housing markets “negative moving” when certain segments have proven stable & others even appreciating. #2- FINANCING—OMG—lenders went from offering ANYONE & EVERYONE mortgage money to wrapping a death grip around their funds.. #3- SHORT SALES—while locally a rare commodity,, on a national level they make up a significant segment of the market—the problem here— TIMING!!! Buyers can be in contract for over a year.. some wait months only to find their offer was rejected and another buyer got it for a few thousand more.. it’s like going to a new restaurant, that advertises for “good food at good prices” … you sit down with your family… wait forever,, service is the worst you’ve ever experienced and the appetizers come and they flat out stink.. after another torturously long wait, they come back & tell you there’s no more food… on your way out, you see another table that got your food, in less time, with better service… so you leave & tell everyone you know NOT to ever go to that restaurant –GET IT! So now short sales,, which nationally make up a significant segment of the market, are avoided like the plague. Just walk a mile in any successful Agent’s shoes and you’ll hear stories about contracts that fell apart for either 1,2 or 3!
They all, either missed, or chose NOT to report on the BIG NEWS…. The BIG NEWS is that NAR’s June Pending Home Sales Report showed a 30% INCREASE year over year-June 2010 to June 2011- that’s HUGE! and a 2.4% increase month to month May to June 2011.
Don’t they get it—the media has the power to spin any report or story any way they choose—read the facts—the #’s never lie!