Every time numbers issued by the National Association of Realtors® are at variance with, say, Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Index, critics loudly proclaim that NAR is nothing but a cheerleader for the profession, manipulates numbers to suit its nefarious purposes and should be disregarded.  Those folks don't seem to understand what Realtors® do for a living, much less that cheerleading for homeownership is not exactly invoking devil worship. 

In fact, the American Dream has as a large component the ownership of one's own home.  It seems that every wave of immigrants to this country has as its chief goal not only success in the new homeland, but the purchase of real estate, which may have been in short supply in the native land or simply not available to purchase.  Cheerleading for this should not be considered a bad thing, wouldn't you agree?

On the other hand, the Case-Shiller Index was largely created to assist equity speculators, hedge-fund investors, etc. With methods that emphasize negative aspects of the real estate market, and concentrating on a small subset of metropolitan areas, the CSI promotes fear like Molly Malone sold cockles and mussels.  Scream it loud and long (and sell short).

So, the next time someone accuses NAR of cheerleading, think of the millions of homeowners and prospective homeowners who benefit, and join in the cheer.