The NAR was the main lobby behind the ouster of DeMarco. With so many “would-be sellers” living “free” while waiting months for a (dicey) SS approval or to be foreclosed upon (with both possibly occurring simultaneously or in-tandem), they’re not listing because they are underwater …. hundreds of thousands of them grossly so. The NAR has made it plain over the last few years that they favor debt forgiveness (even in cases of “cash out” used for anything and everything but the mortgage and property improvements) over foreclosure. There has not been enough “churning” going on in the residential RE market and thousands of their members are starving while fighting over a dearth of potential listings. The NAR and its children’s (ex: CAR) position is that these poor-slob underwater owners should be able to list and also buy again ASAP.
The financial overextension of Joe6p (who did it to himself, btw) during the millenium boom is taking too long to sort itself out for the NAR’s taste …. of course, all due to gubment interference with the bogus HARP and HAMP programs, etc, its carrot-and-stick incentive offerings for the Big Banks to “play ball” and its continued manipulation of the financial markets in recent years.
This is JMHO, gleaned from my realty subscriptions along with what I’ve seen on the street, etc.
