Amid the pundits pondering of the housing market and nowadays also the stock market, existing-home sales have been up again in a year-to-year comparison report issued on Friday by the National Association of Realtors. This continues a three months consecutive trend of increases in housing starts compared to 2007 data.
The stock market reacted favorably to the housing news and bargain hunters drove up markets with sharp gains.
Experts agree that on the housing front sales have reached a bottom, but prices are due to further adjust downward in certain markets, before stabilizing and then rebounding. The NAR expects existing-home sales totaling 5.02 million in 2008, rising to 5.32 million in 2009 and 5.62 million in 2010. As far as new-home sales the trade group expects those to decline in 2009 to 413,000 before rebounding to 520,000 in 2010.
Major media outlets did not promise to refrain from spreading unfounded, speculative, misleading or even false information, even if they should be aware of such falsities. Spokespersons for major media outlets did not pledge to proceed with proper care and due diligence on rumors and hearsay.
Reuters is believed to have realized that it hired interns instead of economists to predict market trends, a mistake officials are scrambling to correct. CNN seeks to hire additional actors to become stock market and economic experts for its various entertainment shows. Fox was not sure what to do next, as it had possibly lost 30 percent of its viewership and MSNBC and CNBC never had that many viewers in the first place.
The Los Angeles Times axed publishing its weekly real estate section altogether, as it grasped it was a very bad business practice to hammer the housing market daily on page one and expecting real estate agents to continue to pay more for tiny, little boxes in its weekly showcase magazine. The Palm Beach Post let 300 journalists and staffers go who are now asking themselves frantically ‘where they simply dim-witted to only write negative blurbs in order to claim their 10 seconds of fame and being published'. More print media will follow to close shop, as the industry had failed to exercise proper journalism and investigate and question early on the real bad players responsible for the demise of the economy, as certain financial institutions were outspending the real estate industry 15:1 and it is understandable that you do not bite the hand that feeds you, especially when its investment banking arm issues reports on your own stock-viability.
So long to all those in the mainstream media who enjoyed so obviously to bash the real estate industry. To those remaining journalists and to prove that you are worthy of your profession, get on your heels and sharpen your pencils (old-time lingo for hit the keyboards) and follow painstakingly and inform the public on how this extra $700 billion dollars is being spent. So far the banks are using it to acquire and merge with each other - that was not the deal though! Hello, anybody out there? Time is running out! Joe -the-helpless fighting-off-foreclosure-struggler has not been addressed yet and probably will not, as GM and Ford are already knocking at the door to get $50 billion from that pie to cover up their mismanagement as executives of both companies continued to make and attempted to sell cars to people that in increasing numbers could not afford $500 bucks to fill up every month. Not good news. Sorry Joe.
It seems this $700 billion has already been spent two times over, hasn't it! In the interim: Happy-looking- forward to the next $600 or $1200 economic-stimulus-package; it will pay for one or two months worth of gasoline bills, as prices are on the rise again, due to the ‘three' countries cutting supply and controlling what Americans pay at the pump.
For some, boom time continues. Who are they? Investors (domestic and foreigners) with cash, credit and a vision to buy up houses and condos, some at fire-sale prices, fix them up and fill them with tenants for a handsome future ROI. After all, we are expected to be 400 million Americans in 20 years or so. And without those fine pioneers and visionaries, no journalist would be able to put butter on their bred in the future, as our system of consumption, our society's survival and continuance starts with the housing market: Woman buys home with loan. Man and Woman have coffee in the new home. They have a full refrigerator restocked every week. They are happy and content. Man reads morning paper (hint!), woman reads book. Man drives to work, woman maybe, too. Man and woman pay taxes. Government can invest taxes in infrastructure. Create jobs, attract business. New business pays even more taxes. Man and woman shop together, wine and dine, travel, go to Lowe's or Home Depot to fix and upgrade home, buy new furniture, buy a new eco-car and once-in-a-while go to the movies, so another person, also known as an actor, can buy an even bigger home and man and woman can look up to actor and be motivated to save and invest more in newly attracted business by Government (Hello stock market!) so as to also one day exchange their home for a bigger and better one and have offspring together - many little new future home buyers.
Disclaimer: Facts peppered with Satire
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