{"id":1401,"date":"2008-01-15T11:14:53","date_gmt":"2008-01-15T19:14:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seattlebubble.com\/blog\/2008\/01\/15\/john-l-scott-now-is-a-smart-time-to-buy\/"},"modified":"2008-01-29T09:45:31","modified_gmt":"2008-01-29T17:45:31","slug":"john-l-scott-now-is-a-smart-time-to-buy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seattlebubble.com\/blog\/2008\/01\/15\/john-l-scott-now-is-a-smart-time-to-buy\/","title":{"rendered":"John L. Scott: “Now Is A Smart Time To Buy”"},"content":{"rendered":"

A number of people pointed me toward a “white paper” recently released from real estate brokerage John L. Scott titled “Why Now Is A Smart Time To Buy<\/a>” (pdf). It purports to be “an objective assessment of the housing market as it stands at the end of 2007” designed “to help home buyers assess the facts of the real estate market objectively.” With a title like that, it sure sounds “objective” to me…<\/p>\n

Let’s have a look inside.<\/p>\n

Three factors caused this decade\u2019s housing boom to spiral upwards: 1) a run-up in home price valuations that spurred a high sense of urgency in home buying and selling; 2) poor lending practices, which caused many homebuyers to secure loans that they ultimately couldn\u2019t afford over the long term; and 3) speculative purchases of homes also increased, with buyers investing in real estate with the hope of a quick return-on-investment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Actually it doesn’t start off too bad. That’s an accurate assessment of the boom, with a rare admission that speculative purchases played a part, implying that this is even the case in our area (since Seattle is where JLS is based).<\/p>\n

Like the dot com bust, the housing market has begun to correct itself after a number of years of unwise purchasing, but unlike what the media would have us believe, a correction in the housing market doesn\u2019t equate to a crash. Unfortunately, the ongoing negative news about the troubled areas in the U.S. has caused a ripple effect, with home buyers and sellers on a national level exercising caution before making a decision.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ok hold on. Did you catch what they said just there? “Unfortunately<\/strong>… buyers and sellers [are]<\/em> exercising caution<\/strong>…” (emphasis mine). Huh?!? How is it “unfortunate” that people are being more cautious<\/em>? Oh, right. John L. Scott <\/strong>sells real estate<\/strong>, so they would prefer it if all caution was thrown to the wind. Also, they’re blaming the downturn on “negative news.” That is so laughable it’s not even worth a detailed rebuttal. Here’s a hint though guys: it’s the other way around\u2014the downturn is real, so the news is negative.<\/p>\n

The rest of the paper focuses on superficial points that are unlikely to sway any but the most gullible (page numbers refer to the number printed on the page, not the actual pdf page number):<\/p>\n