Comments on: NAR Admits Publishing Bad Existing Sales Data

By: wayne landon

wayne landon — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:25:51 +0000

This is not the 1st time it has been revealed that numbers were fudged. If you buy their reason for the mistake, I have a bridge I would like to show you. Now here is the real insult: when I became aware of the reporting problem I tried to cancel my membership to no avail. The MLS membership fees paid to the Chicago Realtors Association include the annual dues to NAR, and they won’t unbundle them. So what do you think about that?

By: Mike Wheatley

Mike Wheatley — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:39:05 +0000

lol, thanks John, but for your information we’re just pointing out the fact the NAR finally admitted to doing so – whereas previously your story was just speculation

Have a very merry Christmas!

By: John Schoen

John Schoen — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:19:26 +0000

FYI, we first reported this in March, 2011:
See: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42258117/ns/business-eye_on_the_economy/t/flawed-housing-data-might-mask-depth-woes/#.TvDDadQ7U1I

By: Hugo

Hugo — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:50:39 +0000

Who cares, Prospect!!!!

By: Mike Wheatley

Mike Wheatley — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 15:12:06 +0000

Hi Donna! Thanks for your comments

By: Gene Wasson

Gene Wasson — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 15:05:58 +0000

In Mike Wheatley’s article dated 16 December 201, titled “NAR Admits Publishing Bad Existing Sales Data” he states “Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the NAR, explained that the association used the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) to track existing home sales. However, he pointed out that the MLS database is limited to data from sales listed by realtors only. Sales of homes listed by owners are excluded from the database, and so the MLS only provides a narrow view of real estate markets. He also pointed out that because the majority of homeowners use realtors, sales figures for realtor listed homes became artificially inflated.”
Who is Yun kidding when he says “so the MLS only provides a narrow view of real estate markets”…we are the market! Don’t roughly 80% of all sales go thru MLS and for sale by owners account for only 20% (if that)? Mr. Wheatley then goes on to apparently quote Mr. Yun as saying “because the majority of homeowners use realtors, sales figures for realtor listed homes became artificially inflated.” What does that even mean? At the least it contradicts the sentence just above…Yun needs to go, join the ranks of the unemployed and start to collect new statistics about the U.S. workforce that he can supply to Congress.

By: Donna Robinson

Donna Robinson — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 16:41:36 +0000

Wow what a shock!! The NAR producing bad data?? Who would have suspected that? LOL. The only ones surprised by this finding is the NAR themselves, who live in real estate “La-La land”. Kudos to Core-Logic for pointing out the error. After the NAR’s high profile failure to predict the housing crisis, why does anyone pay attention to their data?