I try not to get too wound up by any one piece of data (datum?). We should be looking for trends as demonstrated by a preponderance of data – the rule, not the exception.
Most of the time when I see a really heavy loss it becomes apparent that the conditions of the sale prior to that resale/loss scenario is what supersized the subsequent loss. Usually that preceding sale was really dumb and should have been caught at the lender’s level, if nowhere else.
We’re so busy looking at burning trees that it may not be apparent that the entire forest hasn’t yet caught fire. Some areas are in full retreat, but there are still a couple areas and price ranges where that retreat is not so apparent to the naked eye.