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(Reuters) - Data on sales of previously owned homes from 2007 through October this year will be revised down next week because of double counting, indicating a much weaker housing market than previously thought.
The National Association of Realtors said a benchmarking exercise had revealed that some properties were listed more than once and in some instances new home sales were also captured.
"All the sales and inventory data that has been reported since January 2007 is being downwardly revised. Sales were weaker than people thought," NAR spokesman Walter Malony told Reuters.
"We're capturing some new home data that should have been filtered out and we also discovered that some properties were being listed in more than one list."
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Yah I read that too. Big front page story on CNN.com. NAR is spinning it like they didn't know and just found out.Most likely they where outed and got ahead of the story.Way to cook those books NAR.
What a bunch of crooks. If the OWS folks want to really want to protest who is to blame for our current mess, try the Real Estate and Mortgage industry.
CNNMoney apparently broke this, but many bloggers have been saying they fudged the numbers for years. It's not really a surprise as Core Logic's data showed an obvious discrepancy for that long.
This isn't new or surprising. Their data has been wrong for at least as long as I have been blogging (since 2007). I'm constantly contradicting their data. Sometimes they are off in the wrong direction too, making things look worse than they really are due to their "drift calculation" that they use.
I don't think Case Shiller uses their data. They might use their raw data, but I would suspect they get it from the counties directly. Case Schiller uses a repeat sales methodology where they compare the same home when they are resold. Their data is fine and isn't impacted by the NAR snafu.
I'm no NAR apologist (go back and look at my post history if you don't believe me), but I can understand how some of those mistakes can be made if they are compiling data from various sources-especially with the new construction.
Famous Mark Twain quote:
[SIZE=2]" those who do not read newspapers are uninformed, those who do are misinformed.[/SIZE]"
Everything from the NAR to other entities can spin data. You never know the truth unless you are on the inside.
I am in medicine. Obama and the Dems will says medical costs are the leading costs of BK in this country. But if you look into the real data, the vast majority of people were heavily in debt before facing potential bk and only medical costs send them over the edge.
So the real truth about housing sales lies somewhere in between what's reported by the NAR.
For me, this story is meaningless anyway. The only stats that are meaningful for most people who have an interest in the first place are local stats as an indication of price direction and, as long as the local association's methodology has been consistent, that's good enough to get a grip on the local market. Our area has been hot and continues to get hotter with November sales at the highest point since 2005. We are (if the trend continues) heading for a seller's market . If buyers choose to take the position that the association can't be trusted and it's all a bunch of lies, they will continue to find that their lowball offers will be rejected and, eventually, they'll figure it out for themselves.
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