Media Effects Politics
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Oh, now we understand. This entire slowdown in home-buying, the collapse of the subprime lending industry, the surge in bankruptcies, it’s our fault -- bloggers and journalists made this happen.
This, at least, is the thrust of an essay by Lawrence Yun, the senior economist for the National Assn. of Realtors. Read the whole thing here. Highlights:
‘To a great extent, we can thank steady media coverage of the real estate market “correction” for unfounded consumer concerns.... But there’s no real correction where consumers are concerned. Yes, home price appreciation has slowed considerably, and nationally we’re expecting a price drop of 1% for 2007. But that drop comes at the tail end of a five-year spurt that increased home prices by 53%. We may have taken one small step back, but that’s after taking 53 steps forward.’
More: ‘When today’s consumers look at real estate markets, they need to use the same analytical approach as investors in the stock market. Those buyers aren’t generally concerned about the volume of stock trades on a given day. Why should they be? They’re focused on price trends. And by that measure, now is a great time for consumers to be in the housing market: Prices have steadied, and inventories are healthy.’
Yun replaced David Lereah, who was widely criticized -- ridiculed is more accurate -- on blogs for being a cheerleader for the housing bubble. This essay will earn Yun similar attention -- in fact, there’s already at least one blog dedicated to yun-watching, www.lawrenceyunwatch.blogspot.com.
Comments? Thoughts? (Warning: They will be slow to post; L.A. Land is outside the TMZ.)
Thanks for the tip: The new-and-improved Blown Mortgage
Photo Credit: Reuters