Surprised that Yun’s candor wasn’t noticed

Posted on April 30, 2008 by Jim Duncan

From yesterday’s USA Today (fingered by a client):

Lawrence Yun: Consumers need to find out what is going on at the local level and not necessarily take national headline numbers as a point of reference. Sellers tend to be more stubborn in facing the reality of the market, so people who really need to sell need to come down on prices, given the high inventory and seller competition.

…

USA TODAY: Does the national median home price need to fall a lot more before the housing market can get moving again?

Yun: Prices need to adjust as the market dictates. Another 10% fall in some markets could occur. However, I doubt prices will or need to fall in the vast middle America. Indianapolis, Dallas, Kansas City, Omaha are, if anything, underpriced markets.

Calculated Risk on the Case-Shiller index.

My take last week on the Case-Shiller index.

About Jim Duncan

A Charlottesville Realtor who tries to stay on the bleeding/cutting/functional edge of technology and real estate trends. I have been selling real estate for the past 10 years, lived in C'Ville for twenty+ and am married to one of few Charlottesville natives left.
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  • 3rd Generation

    Yun will be known and remembered as the George W. Bush of real estate industry… The have similar skill and effectiveness in public speaking…

    Stupid, clueless and dangerous. A complete disgrace. Not to be believed. Failure, Doom and shame just about sum the whole thing up…

  • http://www.loudounstats.com Danilo Bogdanovic

    Everyone talks about “national numbers” and forgets about the importance of local numbers.

    I had a conversation with someone living in a 55+ community in Florida yesterday. He said that the builders give you a two hour window to decide whether you want to buy something or not. If you don’t, they move on to the next person in line. You tell someone that here in VA and they’d laugh at you.

    Why don’t people get that real estate is extremely hyper-local? It seems as though Yun was trying to make that point, but be very diplomatic about it.

  • Andy K

    It is interesting that Yun is now telling the public that real estate is local. I could have missed this, but I don’t recall hearing that very true message when the market was booming. He wanted everyone in every locale to think that their house was appreciating as fast as CA, FL, and NV. From his perspective, it didn’t matter what the public thinks if they are over paying for housing when times are good.

    It is an issue of credibility and pundits twisting the truth to suit their finincial needs at the appropriate times.

  • http://www.realcentralva.com Jim Duncan

    3rd Gen –

    I disagree – David Lereah sealed his legacy; Yun is trying to change that of the Economist office. Do you disagree that he seems honest an relatively un-spun in this article?

    Danilo –

    Exactly.

    Andy K –

    Agreed, but Yun wasn’t the Chief Economist during the height of the boom. With diplomatic commentary such as this, I see it as evidence that he is trying to establish himself as a credible source. Time will tell.

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  • http://www.JulieEmery.com Julie Emery

    It will take time for Yun to restore integrity to the office. It will take time for people to believe him and not look for spin in every statement. Trust is lost in an instant and built over a long period of time.

  • http://www.PropertyLinesAtlanta.com Kathy Drewien

    It is not just Yun’s candor that goes without notice. Every day I tell a seller, “Your house is over-priced. If it was priced correctly you would have an offer!”

    The objections are without meaning if you don’t have an offer:
    I don’t want to give it away;
    We need room for negotiation;
    The other agents say we’re priced right.

    I’ll say it again – Sellers tend to be more stubborn in facing the reality of the market, so people who really need to sell need to come down on prices, given the high inventory and seller competition.

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  • http://www.jmacsays.com John MacArthur

    Lawrence Yun is a hack. He has less credibility than any Presidential News Secretary. He represents a self serving autocratic association. The NAR represents nothing more than the focus of a limited number of real estate agents.

    The list goes on and on. It is a public embarrassment that no agent can avoid. One can only hope more atrocities by cults in Texas will be revealed so that Yun and anyone else in that crackerjack group can bumped from any coverage.

    He is so pitiful that you have to find a fraction of soundbite that almost makes sense to praise him.

    The NAR can not govern itself much less agents. The designation they hold copyright to is nothing more than one of many terms people use when looking for an agent.

    Maybe the NAR might want to back off the high inventory statement and analyze what is on the market and reveal the bulk of homes in a “short sale” status are not available for purchase and possesson any time soon.

    Clue…it is a sellers market and smart buyer’s agents know that.

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