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It's a great time to buy or sell a home!

In fact, its such a good time, that the National Association of Realtors decided they need to drop $40 million telling you so:

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Buy the way, imagine if a Fund manager or analyst ever said: XYZ? Oh, yeah, its a great time to BUY OR SELL that. (They would cart them away).

Here's the NYT take on this:   

"Just as dairy associations, with their widespread ads, have tried to convince Americans of the many benefits of milk, the National Association of Realtors will begin promoting the notion that buying a home is an unalloyed good in a $40 million campaign that boldly declares: “It’s a great time to buy or sell a home.”

Gee, you almost think these guys are transactional based or something, taking a cut of any buy or sell. But wait, there's more:

"The ads will try to counter the drumbeat of dour housing data and news by making the case that historically low interest rates, a large supply of homes on the market and the group’s forecast of rising prices next year make now an ideal time to buy a home.

The campaign, which was developed by the Most Agency, based in Newport Beach, Calif., starts today with full-page ads in The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. It will make its way into other newspapers, including The New York Times, over the weekend and onto television and radio networks early next year...

Independent economists, however, are somewhat more skeptical. Many predict that sales and prices, as measured by the association, which fell in August and September from a year ago, may decline further because there are too many homes on the market and because the rapid run-up in prices has put homeownership out of reach of many."

Good stuff. Here is my very favorite part:

"Showing how perilous the art of forecasting can be, the ad by the National Association of Realtors cites a 4.3 percent increase in the number of existing home sales contracts signed in August, from July, as evidence that “prices over all have stabilized.”

But Wednesday, new data released by the association showed that contract signings fell 1.1 percent in September, from August, and 13.6 percent from September 2005. A spokesman said that the first ads were prepared before the latest figures were available and would be updated next week.

Mr. Stevens dismissed the idea that the campaign, the first of its kind undertaken by the association, could be viewed as a sign of desperation . . ." (emphasis added)

Desperation?!? Whatever could they be talking about?

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Sources:
Realtors Say the Stars Are Aligned for Housing
VIKAS BAJAJ
NYT, November 3, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/03/business/03home.html

Download a full-size version of the ad (PDF, 100k)
(to display on your office wall or include in promotional packets for potential buyers)

Learn the points to make with customers who are hesitating about buying now

Download a fact sheet (PDF, 100k)

Friday, November 03, 2006 | 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (27) | TrackBack (1)
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Comments

Happy Days are here again!!!!

Posted by: S | Nov 3, 2006 10:36:12 AM