Add to Technorati Favorites

Blog by

<< back to article list

Say it ain't so!

Hi,

 

I have railed against the media reporting on the real estate market before.  And I have another beef.  I just read an article on Yahoo.com, that was from smartmoney.com.  Unfortunately, I don't think it was so smart.  The article was about the top 5 cities to stay away from regarding home purchasing.  You guessed it, Phoenix was in there.  The problem I have with the article was it's relevance.  While it may have accurately relayed statistics, it was behind the times.  It quoted statistics from the first quarter of 2009.  We are now in the beginning of the third quarter, and the market has been very dynamic the last few months.  Changes occur not monthly, but daily that truly affect the market.

The article stated that we can expect to continue to see prices decline in the Phoenix area.  It reasoned that buyers should be careful buying now, but that the long haul will be positive.  The last part (long haul) is the only thing I agree with.  In reality, we (Phoenix market) have seen sales increase every month this year, and inventory levels decrease.  But more to the point, the median prices have actually increased the last two months (the first time in a couple years). The article was dated June 30, so June stats weren't yet completely available, but reporting like this only serves to hurt the market.  These things become self fulfilling when the average citizen hears this stuff.

Obviously, as a Realtor, I want to see improvement.  But as a citizen, it is more important to me.  I don't want to see an artificial market, whether down or up.  It is still a far from perfect market, but dated statistics can be as harmful as inaccurate reporting.  If people hold off buying because of articles like this, we all lose.  Especially those already facing distressed circumstances.  Let us all push for timely, accurate reporting.  If the numbers are actually negative, then report it, that's the way it is.  But make it relative to the current market.

Adam Tarr,Associate Broker
ABR,CDPE,RSPS,ePro,CNE
Citywide Real Estate and Investments
Phoenix, AZ
480-236-7374

Adam@WeAreAZRealEstate.com

Archives

Newsletter
http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
website counter