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.

It's that time of the month again, when Standard & Poor's releases those shocking numbers on real estate, using the Case-Shiller Index and its pseudo-scientific evaluation of the housing market.

In a Forbes article yesterday those scary numbers of the statistical subset of 20 markets and the mythical national market were once again paraded by the media.  I have written frequently about the shortcomings of the Case-Shiller, but keep in mind it is definitely defective, unless you are a purveyor of hedge funds, which always do well on bad news.  And the media continue to trumpet (or should I say bleat?) the "bad news." If it bleeds, it leads.  Of course, those are numbers through April (this is the third week in June, in case no one noticed), and other reports suggest imminent improvement, especially in those areas hardest hit by the recent real estate "unpleasantness."

Ignore the national market - it doesn't exist.  Look behind the headlines and at your local market to learn what is going on.  Your local market, explained by your local Realtor®, determines the value of property you own or want to own.