Just a Small Sample of Lereah's Terrible Forecasts

I don't think there will be a price-appreciation pop. It's not going to be nationwide. The fundamentals are there. The demography trends and population trends are there. It's a once-in-a-generation opportunity."--Chief economist, The National Association of Realtors.

"Real estate is still a great investment opportunity for households. Price appreciation will continue. It may not be at 20%. It may be at 10% to 15%, or may even go down to 5%. The returns are still going to be good, but not as great as they have been. Real estate should still be extremely competitive [in terms of] return on investment."--August 12, 2005

Gwen Ifill: "Was there ever such a thing as a housing bubble?"

David Lereah: "I don't like to use the word "bubble" because bubbles burst."

Gwen Ifill: "Exactly"

David Lereah: Balloons don't burst. You can put air in a balloon and it can expand or you can deflate a balloon where air comes out. So if you're looking at different metro markets around this country that got real hot over the last four years, I like to use the imagery of balloons because they're getting hot. You're putting more air into those balloons. The prices are going up. But now air can come out of the balloons rather than the balloon popping."

Gwen Ifill: So we're hearing a hissing sound rather than a pop?"

David Lereah: "I think that's probably the best analogy to use right now.

"With sales stabilizing, we should go back to positive price growth early next year."--NAR September 2006 on August 2006 existing home sales press release

"David Lereah has established himself as the ultimate expert for the real estate industry," said Allan Dalton. "Having David partner with me on this new venture will ensure that consumers and the industry will benefit from his unparalleled knowledge of financial issues and the real estate marketplace."--Allan Dalton, Move Inc. April 2007