Brad Inman this morning wrote an excellent article about the mortgage and real estate crisis that has gripped so many markets in the United States–and elsewhere. In The Housing Market Blame Game, Inman reports that even formerly raging real estate markets that were once seen as unshakable, such as Manhattan, are now beginning to share the pain with regions that had collapsed earlier.
Many blame the real estate industry for hyping the real estate market; others the mortgage originators. But Inman makes an interesting observation:
“….hyperbole from every day Realtors is not the underlying problem causing the housing quake. I would assign more blame to industry experts who peddled their demographic-as destiny arguments and ignored other issues.
This is akin to the expert analyst problem in the equities industry, where favorable reviews were tied to conflicts of interest.”
My response:
The blame game and finger pointing has become a conversation staple from Wall Street to Main Street. Some blame greedy hedge funds, some the greedy mortgage industry, some the greedy real estate agents, and some the greedy mortgage fraudsters.
The conversations that interest me most are the ones that seek ways to sift through the rubble to find approximate market bottoms. That is where the next real estate fortunes will be made.
Greed survives.
Roberta,
Something needs to be done. We, as Realtors cannot keep our heads in the sand any longer. We need to unite and let our voices be heard. Realtors are in the trenches and we see the devasting implications that have occured due to the Banking industry.
The predators are out in force and see a way to make a quick dime on these folks. To my way of thinking it all must stop for the economy to survive.
-Gena Riede
Gena:
I like your earlier editorial, where you cast stones at the bank who would not return calls, or make a step in any direction to correct a correctable problem.
We are facing a similar problem now with a mortgage lender whose clerks will let a home go into foreclosure rather than find a way to work something out with a motivated borrower.
Catch 22?