Welcome!
I think the comments above mine represent a growing sentiment amongst a large percentage of the dues paying realtor association membership (those remaining members, that is)that their top tier leadership is out of touch with the realities of the situation, and their "well thought out plan" is a band aid, short term, delay the inevitable and prolong the pain wishlist. This from the same leadership that played a significant part in encouraging an artificial market, hyping it to continue the gravy train, then ignoring the seriousness of the evolving crisis, all the time releasing misleading analysis and "expert advice", to persuade the public to buy into a market of financial ruin. The respect and credibility of association members in the eyes of the general public has been deeply tarnished for unforetold years to come, and the association's leadership is largely to blame. It's my opinion the NAR's housing rescue plan is unworkable, ill conceived, a worthless temporary fix, destined for future failure, and of no real value. I would recommend anyone in government view this request in the same stack of papers as the NAR's market analysis and future predictions from the past four years, and file it in the same wastepaper basket with all the the other lamebrain, doofus recovery requests for money.
There were a few analysts, a very limited group you can count on one hand, that predicted the market correctly through the boom/bust years. Here's 15 Inman News examples since 9/4/04, including my quotes and comments. http://www.inman.com/news/2004/07/5/real-estate-tells-tales-impending-bubble http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/real-estate-booms-not-always-followed-busts http://www.inman.com/news/2005/09/3/who-gets-hurt-in-real-estate-downturn http://www.inman.com/news/2006/04/3/its-naptime-in-florida-real-estate http://www.inman.com/news/2006/05/3/world-discovers-florida-real-estate http://www.inman.com/news/2006/10/1/real-estate-turns-economic-crutch-splinter http://www.inman.com/opinion/letter-to-editor/2006/12/2/letters-editor http://www.inman.com/news/2007/08/5/speculation-in-condo-conversions-south-floridas-cautionary-tale http://www.inman.com/blog/2007/09/2/look-my-eyes-buy-this-condo-now http://www.inman.com/news/2007/09/3/real-estate-purging-has-begun http://www.inman.com/opinion/letter-to-editor/2007/10/1/letters-editor-2 http://www.inman.com/news/2008/03/31/foreign-buyers-fuel-second-home-sales-while-us-buyers-hold-back http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/berniceross/media-create-foreclosure-hysteria http://www.inman.com/news/2008/06/10/nar-lowers-2008-price-forecast http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/berniceross/premium-service-deserves-premium-pay Jack McCabe CEO McCabe Research & Consulting www.mccaberesearch.com
I think that Inman News includes Bernice Ross' theories and espousings of 1960's "realtorology" as a source of levity and humor. I must thank Inman for the chuckles and occasional belly laugh! Other than the NAR top brass, no one seems as delusional and hallucinogenic about market conditions and realtors value to consumers as Ms. Ross. The six percent commission is history and obsolete, like Ms. Ross' old war horse realtor logic. Long gone like the speculators and unqualified buyers; gone with the toxic mortgages and double digit annual artificial RE inflation, gone like the believability of realtor hyping, huffing and puffing that prices will keep going up, and the more recent false claims that "we've hit bottom" every month for two years and counting. Realtors and their trade association have dealt permanent and perhaps irreversable damage to their reputations and credibility in the eyes of the general public since the start of the new millenium. Sellers and buyers now research and seek alternatives to realtor involvement in their real estate transactions. Try and find a seller or buyer that believes six percent of the real estate's value should be taken by real estate sales people. You'll be hard pressed to find one. With many alternative business models offering similar services at considerably lower fees, internet firms playing a growing part in real estate transactions, and full blown electronic real estate transactions just around the corner, Ms Ross' "sage" advice is outdated, and like the dinosaurs, should be considered extinct. I think about all the people that were convinced by realtors to buy at too high prices and are winding up in millions of foreclosures when I look at the "value" of a realtor in a transaction. Or perhaps it is because I am highly aware of the amount of realtors flipping properties back and forth in the last five years and it's artificial bolstering of prices while they netted a too sweet profit. Or, as it occurred here in Florida, the amount of real estate and mortgage fraud that realtors allegedly participated in by helping consumers inflate incomes or choose toxic mortgages from a friend where income didn't matter, or other realtors that "wink-wink nod-nod" ignored laws once their multi-thousand dollar checks were in hand. The realtor as the "expert" negotiator out to get you the best price....and that's why they deserve 6%? I'm still laughing. A "ridiculous and absurd" award to Ms. Ross. It's time for her to consider a new career.... as a stand up comic. Thank you Inman News for the surreal comedy.
