Happy-face Headlines vs Bleak Reality

Weird headlines this morning, demonstrating happy-face thought control attempts. Headline, posted at 7am: "New report may show home sales on the rise". Uh, yeah right. That is how desperate they are getting, making front page news out of forecasts for possible upturns. From the happy-face article, "A trade group report today on sales of existing homes is expected to show selling increased slightly in January. The increase would mark the second straight month of improvement from November's record low. Sales are expected to rise to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.79 million units, from 4.74 million a month earlier." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090225/ap_on_bi_ge/home_sales

The actual report was then released a couple hours later. Woops, can you believe it, the experts are wrong again??? The headline: "January existing home sales fall by 5.3 percent"

The article then reveals a record-high collapse in sale volume and prices. And guess what? Government intervention is responsible for screwing up the market, as people delay action in the face of changing government policy and incentives.

"A real estate group says sales of existing homes took an unexpected plunge from December to January, falling to the lowest level in nearly 12 years as buyers waited for the government to boost the U.S housing market. The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that sales of existing homes fell 5.3 percent to an annual rate of 4.49 million last month, from 4.74 million units in December. It was the weakest showing since July 1997. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 4.79 million units, according to Thomson Reuters. The median sales price plunged to $170,300, down 14.8 percent from $199,800 a year earlier. That was the lowest price since March 2003 and the second-largest drop on record. " http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090225/ap_on_bi_ge/existing_home_sales

Confused half-measures by the government only create confusion and chaos. Only a mortgage Jubilee will give the market a solid landing, without undo social disruption, and allow the market to function again.