REALTOR® associations have it rough. I know, I know...hearing us whine is not exactly what you come to this blog for. But hear me out.
By some, we're expected to be cheerleaders of sorts—shouting positive platitudes from the hilltops for all to hear, even in the darkest of times. Shining light on the silver lining in every cloud, turning every frown upside down. We're supposed to be Bing Crosby in the 1940s, shuffling with a wide smile across a USO stage and imploring all to "Accentuate the Positive."
By others, we're expected to be dour and soulless number-crunchers—cold and calculating doom prophets who insist that the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel is a Mack Truck hell-bent on destruction. This kind of bleak hysteria is often called, in many circles, "telling it like it is." Ah, the irony.
The truth of the matter is that blind allegiance to either camp—positive or negative—isn't productive or honest. Lean too far towards rose-colored analysis and you'll understandably lose credibility as a trusted source of information. Sway too deep into headline-grabbing, blood-soaked doom and gloom and you'll not only alienate your members, but also create an unfair and often untrue picture of reality that needlessly damages the confidence of those participating in the market.
So what's the solution to this eternal conundrum? Well I guess we'll never have it completely figured out.
But out overarching goal in our analysis of the housing market is too always be honest and forthright. Usually, that involves finding the middle ground between optimism and pessimism; the truth always tends to lie in that unsexy but essential region.
In this spirit of honesty, consider the following pieces of news, one good and one bad:
MAAR Analysis: This sucks. Pretty bad. No way to sugarcoat it.
Bad debt and depreciating home values are causing headaches and heartaches for some consumers.
MAAR Analysis: This rules. Pretty hard. No way to ignore it.
Raising the FHA limit makes 77.4 percent of current Twin Cities listings eligible to be purchased using secure, FHA financing. This provides a much needed option to consumers in this period of uncertainty in the credit and lending markets.
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