Anyone following media real estate news gets a daily dose of “sky-is-falling” (not to mention “world-is-ending”) treatments whether they like it or not. In a recent article by real estate giant Coldwell Banker’s CEO, Jim Gillespie, however, reports like those being issued by the Case-Shiller index studies are being heavily challenged.
Do twenty markets a national snapshot make? It’s poppycock, according to Gillespie. “I am amazed at the attention this report gets, he writes, “yet many consider it “the be-all-and-end-all” economic indicator that defines our entire national housing picture. As we know, all real estate is local, and it is unfortunate that the reporting on a 20-city “national” index can have such a jarring impact on otherwise rational people.”
Gillespie uses recent headline examples:
“Home prices at lowest point since 2006 bust”
“Home values continue downward churn”
“No relief in sight’ for falling home prices”
“Even in Maui,” says Gillespie, “the front page headline in the paper screams “Crash Spreads.” Trouble is, Maui isn’t one of the 20 markets, and Gillespie points out that the nearest market covered is San Diego, a mere 2500 miles away.
To read more, go here.
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