Bernanke's Twin

David Lereah, Chief Economist for the National Associate of Realtors (NAR), has made some pretty amazing (wrong) prognostication since 2005. Unlike Bernanke, he left his post at the NAR in 2007.  However, he did work for an organization whose motto is, "Its Always the Best Time to Buy." Therefore, I guess he was just carrying out the party line.  Just look at what he has said between 2005 and 2007.  Pretty amazing stuff, indeed!

“The continuing shortages of housing inventory are driving the price gains. There is no evidence of bubbles popping.” – David Lereah, NAR – August 2005

“The steady improvement in home sales will support price appreciation despite all the wild projections by academics, Wall Street analysts, and others in the media.” – David Lereah, NAR – January 10, 2007

However, in 2009, he then admitted in an interview with Money Magazine that he was nothing but a shill for the real estate industry.  (I wonder if Bernanke will ever have one of those truth moments when he leaves the Fed.)  More specifically, he states, “I was pressured by NAR executives to issue optimistic forecasts — then was left to shoulder the blame when things went sour. I was there for seven years doing everything they wanted me to. I worked for an association promoting housing, and it was my job to represent their interests. If you look at my actual forecasts, the numbers were right in line with most forecasts. The difference was that I put a positive spin on it. It was easy to do during boom times, harder when times weren’t good. I never thought the whole national real estate market would burst.”  I am always amazed at how humanity operates after they have one of those righteous moments after the fact.  I am sorry Mr. Lereah but you still have no creditability in my book.

And, for the NAR, they replaced Mr. Lereah with Lawrence Yun, who continues in the great footsteps of Mr. Lereah.  Mr. Yun recently assured the public that it was the best time to buy a home during the entire housing slide.  All what I can say is that Mr. Bernanke must be very proud of the work that Mr. Lereah did and the work that Mr. Yun is currently doing. 

For a more insightful reading on this topic, go to "Zero Hedge."