The NAR says now is a great time to buy a home
For the past few months (or years) the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and its unscrupulous minions have been parroting the message that now is a great time to buy a house.
That may or may not be true. What is known is that Realtors always claim that “now” is a great time to buy no matter when “now” happens to be and what is happening to the market. Back in 2006, the NAR went about trying to convince the public that prices had stabilized, interest rates were low, the number of houses for sale were up and that it was a great time to buy a home. Today it’s the same song and dance — prices have stabilized, interest rates are low, the number of houses for sale are up and it’s a great time to buy a home.
This may be the ideal time to buy a house. It might not be the ideal time to buy a house. However, it’s impossible to rely on the NAR in determining such things as that bunch has a vested interest in always parroting the “now is a great time to buy” line. I’m not sure if they’re stupid, think we’re idiots or a combination of both. What is very clear, however, is that the NAR’s always optimistic view of housing markets is simply not credible.
Music Monday – suck on this, weasel
Well it seems I annoyed a Realtor with my little site and that caused him to send an email full of typical real estate agent outrage, half-truths and venom.
Rather than post that agent’s email and give the trash mouth some publicity, I’ve elected to post up a nice Fear video in response. Enjoy it, varmint.
NAR begs for more of your money
How low will Realtors sink to make a buck?
Calamity! A damned tragedy has rocked the real estate world!
Yes, it seems our friends at the National Association of Realtors (NAR) were able to buy enough votes to allow more time for people wanting to get their free government money in the form of repeat and first-time home buyer tax credits. However, the rocket scientists at the NAR haven’t been able to bribe enough congressmen to get more cash for the the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development guaranteed loan program.
The NAR be shoved out it place in line at the government trough. No, sir. Even now, the slimy bastards at the NAR are asking its members to irritate their Congressional representatives until they get what they want. Specifically, another government handout to help prop up a housing market that is still overinflated.
To understand why the NAR is in hysterics over this issue, a discussion of the Rural Development guaranteed loan program is in order. Rural Development loans come in two flavors — direct (for the very poor) and guaranteed (for the middle class and people who can’t scratch together enough cash for a down payment). The guaranteed program is administered through private banks, while the direct program is just what it sounds like — cash directly from the federal government.
The problem with FSBO
Our dear friends at the National Association of Realtors (NAR) simply hate the for sale by owner (FSBO) concept.
Why? Because people who have the audacity to sell their homes without the help of a Realtor don’t pay commissions. One can well understand why a buyer might choose to go it alone — a 6 percent commission is a real burden these days, what with the economy in shambles and home prices falling faster than Tiger Woods’ popularity.
Look at it this way — if a home owner sells a house for $200,000, why on earth should he or she want to fork over $12,000 in commissions? What do Realtors actually do to justify that kind of money? Simply put, the primary value of a Realtor — quite often — is the ability to dump properties into the local multiple listings service (MLS), sit back and wait for buyers to get in touch.
What’s so bad about renting?
One important element of the propaganda campaign the National Association of Realtors (NAR) likes to beat us over the head with is the notion that there’s something inherently wrong with renting a home instead of buying one.
But, really, what’s wrong with renting?
Here’s the thing about financing a home — you’ve got to pay property taxes, assume a bunch of debt and pay maintenance costs because something always seems to break.
The slugs at the NAR love to say it’s a shame to waste your money on rent because you’re not building equity in your home. Consider this, however — how long does it actually take to build up equity in your home? That depends on how the markets faring (not worth a damn these days), how much money you put down on your home, etc.
Consider, too, that most of what you pay over the life of your home loan is interest. Is it worse to pay rent to a landlord or a lot of interest to a bank? Furthermore, the “building up equity” argument goes out the window if you’re only going to stay in a home for a couple of years — it makes more sense to rent if you’re moving around quite a bit.
The National Association of Realtors benefits from trillions in government spending, you get to pay for it all
In the wake of the bursting housing market bubble, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) started buying up members of Congress like crazy and got some cool stuff for its members.
And we, the poor slobs who pay taxes, are stuck with the bill. If that annoys you even a little bit, keep reading.
According to the fine folks over at OpenSecrets.org, the NAR has been spending money like it’s going out of style over the past couple of years. In 2009, the NAR spent $19.48 million in its continuing efforts to suck on the government teat and $17.34 million in 2009 — a total of $36.82 million in two years.
That’s a nice amount of money, but it’s mere chump change considering what the NAR got in return. From April 2008 through April 2010, the government actually paid people to go out and buy homes in the form of tax credits. Eligible first-time buyers received fat, government dollars throughout the life of the two-year money grab while repeat home buyers weren’t as lucky — they only got paid for transactions entered into between November 2009 and prior to May 1.
