Arghhhhhhhhh! Come on folks, isn't it obvious that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) is in the business of selling houses? This means that when their "experts" give their assessment of the housing market, it comes with a certain bias. David Lereah, the former chief economist of the NAR has moved on to greener pastures, but it seems that the media are still treating statements from the NAR with the exact same lack of scrutiny as before. USA Today ran an AP story in which the only expert cited was Pat Combs, the president of the NAR and the vice-president of Coldwell Banker-AJS-Schmidt.
--Dean Baker
