David Lereah

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David Lereah was chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Lereah served as the association's spokesman on economic forecasts, interest rates, home sales, mortgage rates, as well as other policy issues and trends affecting the United States real estate industry. Lereah's penchant for putting out positive spin on dismal housing numbers led critics to dub him the Baghdad Bob of real estate.[1]

On April 30, 2007, the NAR announced that in mid May Lereah would be leaving his job as chief economist to join Move Inc. as an Executive Vice President.[2][3] He was succeeded by Lawrence Yun.[1]

He received his B.A. in Economics & Marketing from American University, Washington, D.C. and his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Virginia. He lives in Fairfax Station, Virginia.

Contents

[edit] Publications

His book Are You Missing the Real Estate Boom?: Why Home Values and Other Real Estate Investments Will Climb Through The End of The Decade—And How to Profit From Them[4] was published in February 2005. One year later in February 2006, Lereah retitled his book Why the Real Estate Boom Will Not Bust—And How You Can Profit from It.[5] Lereah's previous book The Rules for Growing Rich: Making Money in the New Information Economy[6] touting investment in technology company equities was published in June 2000 at the onset of the collapse of the dot-com bubble.

NAR chief economist David Lereah's book in February 2005.
NAR chief economist David Lereah's book[4] in February 2005.
Lereah's book in February 2006 months before the real estate bubble burst.
Lereah's book[5] in February 2006 months before the real estate bubble burst.
Lereah's book on investing in information technology appeared in June 2000 as the dot-com bubble collapsed.
Lereah's book on investing in information technology appeared in June 2000 as the dot-com bubble collapsed.[6]

[edit] Criticism of his policies

Commenting on the phenomenon of shifting NAR accounts of the national housing market, the Motley Fool reported,[7]

"There's nothing funnier or more satisfying … than watching the National Association of Realtors (NAR) change its tune these days. The latest news release from this sunny-Jim industry group finally fesses up to its past fiction, but even when it admits the bubble's going to pop, it can't muster the courage to just come out and say it. … the NAR is full of it and will spin the numbers any way it can to keep up the pleasant fiction that all is well. … [T]he cracks began to show in subsequent remarks from NAR 'Chief Economist' David Lereah. The head outfit that ridiculed the idea of a housing bubble for years is now crying for Ben Bernanke to bring it back. … It should have been completely obvious to anyone with a loan calculator and a glance at wage increases that those months of industry bubble denials were just wishful thinking."

[edit] Criticisms

Lereah has been criticized for encouraging the rise of the United States housing bubble. According to a blog quoted by the Chicago Tribune, "In October 2005 Lereah was busy calling the bubble believers `Chicken Littles.' Many of the predictions espoused by the `Chicken Littles' are fast becoming closer to reality. … David Lereah has lost credibility because of his irresponsible cheerleading."[8]

[edit] Quotes

  • "Real estate is still a great investment opportunity for households. Price appreciation will continue. It may not be at 20%. It may be at 10% to 15%, or may even go down to 5%. The returns are still going to be good, but not as great as they have been. Real estate should still be extremely competitive [in terms of] return on investment." —Lereah, SmartMoney.com interview, August 12, 2005
  • "If you paid your mortgage off, it means you probably did not manage your funds efficiently over the years. It's as if you had 500,000 dollar bills stuffed in your mattress." —Lereah, LATimes, August 28, 2005

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Gross, Daniel (2007-12-10). Worst. Forecasters. Ever? The cockeyed optimists of the National Association of Realtors. Slate.
  2. ^ Reuters. Realtors' upbeat economist, Lereah, steps down.
  3. ^ Scotsman guide. Q&A: David Lereah.
  4. ^ a b Lereah, David (2005). Are You Missing the Real Estate Boom?: Why Home Values and Other Real Estate Investments Will Climb Through The End of The Decade—And How to Profit From Them. Currency. 
  5. ^ a b Lereah, David (2006). Why the Real Estate Boom Will Not Bust—And How You Can Profit from It. Currency. 
  6. ^ a b Lereah, David (2000). The Rules for Growing Rich: Making Money in the New Information Economy. Crown Business. 
  7. ^ "There's nothing funnier or more satisfying (for me, at least) than watching the National Association of Realtors (NAR) change its tune these days. The latest news release from this sunny-Jim industry group finally fesses up to its past fiction, but even when it admits the bubble's going to pop, it can't muster the courage to just come out and say it. … the NAR is full of it and will spin the numbers any way it can to keep up the pleasant fiction that all is well. … [T]he cracks began to show in subsequent remarks from NAR 'Chief Economist' David Lereah. The head outfit that ridiculed the idea of a housing bubble for years is now crying for Ben Bernanke to bring it back. … The real problem here isn’t the NAR, of course. You have to expect these people to spin the facts for their industry. No, the real problem here is the uncritical press out there, which is all too happy to pepper every contrary indicator or bearish remark with an NAR official’s informed-sounding bubble denial. Never mind if what the NAR folks are saying doesn't seem to make sense (or contradicts what they said just a few months back). … It should have been completely obvious to anyone with a loan calculator and a glance at wage increases that those months of industry bubble denials were just wishful thinking." "I want my bubble back", Motley Fool, 9 June 2006. 
  8. ^ "Housing market may be on ice, but the blame market is red hot", Chicago Tribune, 10 September 2006.