Is the foreclosure data presented by RealtyTrac or other such companies trustworthy? I would argue probably to a reasonable consideration, but that’s pending further research. A November 29, 2007 press release from RealtyTrac indicates foreclosure data of 224,451 foreclosure actions during the month of October. According to RealtyTrac this relates to a 2 percent increase versus the previous month and a 94 percent from October 2006. A November 1, 2007 press release from RealtyTrac indicated “a 30 percent increase from the previous quarter and an increase of nearly 100 percent from the third quarter of 2006.” These statements made me curious as to how many times RealtyTrac indicated, by press release title, either an increase or decrease in the foreclosure rates both nationally and non-nationally. I reviewed 138 press release titles from RealtyTrac, which spanned from November 2005 to November 2007 as of today. There are 37 press releases referring to national foreclosures with 24 of these indicating increases in foreclosures; only 13 indicate decreases in foreclosure rates. There were 86 press releases that referenced foreclosures non-nationally, which reveal 54 press releases indicating an increase in foreclosures and 32 press releases indicating a decrease in foreclosures. The non-national category includes any press release title that did not specifically refer to national foreclosure rates, but excludes non-related press releases. The non-related press release category were press releases, indicated by title, where the content was not substantially related to foreclosure rates in any context; there were 15 non-related articles. Of note for Texans there were 18 articles on Dallas (and FortWorth) and one article on Houston. I would like to find another source to compare against RealtyTrac’s press releases, if anyone is aware of any please let me know? I want to determine if there is a way to figure out if RealtyTrac’s data is biased by it being in the business of foreclosures. It would seem that RealtyTrac has a vested interest in reporting higher foreclosure rates, being a company that has a business model that would profit with such activity. I created a spreadsheet to review the above mentioned press releases. If you would like a copy: Download data in Excel Spreadsheet. Download data in OpenOffice Spreadsheet. Download data in PDF format. The word reification has been defined as the consequence of belief or “making it real” (at least in a sociology course I am taking). For an online definition of reification see Wikipedia. Watching CNN early yesterday morning I saw yet again another media report discussing the national real estate market. While I am not an experienced real estate professional, I have been both reading and discussing real estate markets with real estate professionals, and the overwhelming consensus from these professionals is that real estate markets are local and not national. I have a tendency to agree with this perspective, but have not conducted research to prove this position (it just makes sense given that Multiple Listingng Services serve a defined area such as ABOR serving the Austin, Texas area not the entire U.S.). However, I would like to hear a logical argument from both perspectives. The issue I see is that the media in promoting a “national real estate market” is misleading the public. This could result in reification of the housing market or in other words: while the reality is there is not a national housing market if the media convinces the American public that there is a national housing market then it is possible to begin suffering the consequences of that belief. For example, lets say that the Austin, Texas housing market is strong or at least very stable, but because investors and potential home buyers and sellers hear about the dismal conditions of the “national housing market” they become reluctant to act in what is otherwise a strong or very stable market. This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy whereby just because some housing markets are doing badly the media promotes that, without explaining the localization of housing markets, to the consequence of consumer confidence being harmed in good housing markets. Thus while there are no national housing markets the media has effectively panicked people into a circumstance where the effect is that a national perception of dismal housing markets prevail to the detriment of good markets. Do you agree or disagree and why? Do you think there is a national housing market or local markets? Why? I was recently conducting research for my Professional Ethics course. One of the issues I came across was the issue that some local Multiple Listing Services (MLS) are closed and controlled by the National Association of Realtors through their local chapters. David Barry indicates the concerns inherent with this issue on his website Barry & Associates in his report the Nine Pillars of the Citadel. Superficially this is not an issue; the information is proprietary and therefore can be limited and sold for profit to members of that MLS or its subscribers. However, when the MLS is managed and controlled by the local board of Realtors, such as the Austin Board of Realtors (ABOR), then to obtain full access one must become a Realtor. According to Barry this can create an issue when a real estate professional would like to represent a buyer or act as a listing agent, but effectively can not conduct such business without becoming a Realtor. What if the real estate professional does not agree a policy of a local chapter like ABOR? For example, what if I would strongly prefer not to be bound by binding arbitration; an ABOR policy? What if the real estate professional simply does not want to be a Realtor? Inferring from Barry, any exclusion from the MLS is exclusion from that local market. Not that I am a Licensed Real Estate professional yet, but I think Barry has a strong point on that issue and I invite you to read his report. Is there another solution? Barry indicates that full access should be granted to licensed real estate agents and not be the sole domain of Realtors.