Lereah

"I feel the property is worth every penny — and probably then some," says Tommy Hilfiger co-founder Joel Horowitz, who has been asking $100 million for his 210-acre estate in Zephyr Cove, Nev., since July 2006, when the National Association of Realtors 'then-Chief Economist David Lereah said that housing appeared to be headed for a soft landing in most markets.

The Holdouts Juliet Chung 2010

Lereah, senior vice president and chief economist of the National Association of Realtors at the time his book was published had access to all the information that Carter did, yet drew the opposite conclusion.

How you can profit from the real estate market Dan 2008

Barry Ritholtz accurately describes the NAR and Lereah:

Jesus of Suburbia 2009

Now, as the market continues to worsen, Lereah is skeptical of many of the rescue plans being touted in the media.

It’s Going to Get Worse 2008

Lereah does think that the House bill co-sponsored by Barney Frank — which was recently passed by the House Financial Services Committee and now awaits a full House vote, is the right idea.

It’s Going to Get Worse 2008

For 1998, Lereah expects 4.24 million existing homes to be sold, a record.

A Guide For The Confused 2008

And while I thought it was funny when my colleague Daniel Gross and others compared Lereah to Baghdad Bob, the Iraqi information minister who repeatedly announced his army's military successes even as U.S. tanks were overtaking the capital, I can't help feeling bad for him.

It’s Going to Get Worse 2008

"[I] just didn't realize the scope, the extent, the magnitude of the loose underwriting — not looking at incomes and wages, just providing so many mortgage loans based on [expected] future price appreciation rather than the creditworthiness of the borrower," Lereah says.

It’s Going to Get Worse 2008

Let me confess at the start: I spoke with Lereah frequently during the boom, and I always found him to be a smart, thoughtful observer.

It’s Going to Get Worse 2008

While he was an economist at NAR, Lereah was also a real estate investor himself, at one point owning 10 condominiums from Virginia to Florida, which he rented out.

It’s Going to Get Worse 2008