It’s already been widely reported that National Association of Realtors Chief Economist David Lereah, who spearheaded the NAR propaganda tactics that I often criticized on these pages, is on his way out.
Less widely reported was the absurdity of one of Lereah’s parting shots.
To his credit, Lereah finally adopts an appropriately concerned tone in a recent Chicago Tribune article, admitting among other things that "[w]e’re in a real estate recession." But then he follows it up with this whopper:
"Just four months ago, it looked like we were on the road to a very nice recovery," Lereah said. "Then the subprime [mortgage] market blew up, and that has substantially inhibited lending.
"It was a monkey wrench that was thrown in; no one would have predicted it two years ago, no one."
This claim is absolutely laughable…
read more at voiceofsandiego.org
May 11, 2007 @ 6:05 PM
Exactly! I heard Lereah’s
Exactly! I heard Lereah’s interview on NPR yesterday. He basically was saying two things.
1. That he was not the one out there encouraging people to buy (that was his publisher).
2. That everything in the housing market was great… until it was no longer great.
May 11, 2007 @ 7:10 PM
That wasn’t just a whopper,
That wasn’t just a whopper, it was a WHOPPER !!!
May 11, 2007 @ 8:17 PM
I have always said that
I have always said that David Lereah is a big blow-hard. However, he probably has a good point about his publisher making false statements. My own publisher made all those statements about Rich, it wasn’t me.
Visit my website if you want some real analysis.
Sincerely,
Powayseller
May 12, 2007 @ 11:14 AM
“no one would have predicted
“no one would have predicted it two years ago, no one.”
I did, but I’m no one…
May 12, 2007 @ 2:42 PM
There’s a poster here that
There’s a poster here that goes by the name noone. Perhaps he is the “no one” of which Liarreah speaks?
If so, noone needs to take more credit, because he alone could have predicted and thus stopped the tide of subprime defaults coming our way.
May 12, 2007 @ 7:42 PM
Lereah should work for the
Lereah should work for the Bush Administration.
1) Noone could have predicted the Bin Laden attacks on 9-11
2) Noone could have predicted the Insurgency in Iraq.
3) Noone could have predicted the Levees would fail in New Orleans
4) Noone could have predicted the Budget Deficit.
May 14, 2007 @ 7:36 AM
Rich describes Lereah’s
Rich describes Lereah’s activities on behalf of the NAR as “NAR propaganda tactics”
Propaganda is an english /spanish cognate word. It is commonly used in spanish as an equivalent for ADVERTISEMENT. Some how I just thought that relates.