Cramer says: "Don't you dare buy a home now - you will lose money."
(Click on the link above to see the video!)
Hmmm...what do you make of that?
Lenn Harley has an excellent rebuttal! Read her post:
JIM CRAMER, REAL ESTATE, THE STOCK MARKET, and SOME PERSPECTIVE
Additional Article(s) of Interest:


Ugggg, that's all we need is cramer shouting his mouth off about not buying.
Sean Allen
And certainly financial gain as your HOME appreciates is a wonderful thing, but to make it purely a profit/loss proposition and to make blanket statements about national real estate shows the lack of depth of his understanding that ALL REAL ESTATE IS LOCAL.
I hope that NAR will start a serious campaign to get the REAL message out. If you are a 1st time buyer, if you are moving up, and depending on the market you live in... It's likely a GREAT TIME TO BUY.
The media has to have a major crisis... and they go from one thing to the next. Let's all remember how they've helped our industry as we spend our advertising dollars.
And for anyone that missed it -- this link also contains the video with NAR president elect McMillan's rebuttal:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/21015928
The first video is both Cramer and McMillan, the second is Cramer only. Most commentators feel McMillan came off a bit weak.
Keith, You also said: "I will be buying a few of those builders stocks in a year or so, too!" I take it the reason you are not buying those builders stocks today, is you figure they will cost even less in a year or so? Isn't that the same way many buyers are looking at the housing market? (I'm not criticizing, just pointing it out.)
Last spring I had a several buyers, and they were all concerned about buying a house "at the top of the market." They wanted to know if they were making a bad decision, and if they'd lose money. I tried to tell them that they were buying a home, not day trading in houses. And I did say that if they were investors, buying houses to flip, that I didn't think it was a very good time to do that. Does the market go up and down? Yes. Is real estate a good investment over time? Yes. Can I guarantee that their house will gain in value over time? I don't know.
In short, I think we need to remind buyers what it is that they're buying. A home, not an investment.
I've always disliked Cramer. I think he's loud, obnoxious, and occassionally right. He goes by the motto of "If I yell louder than the other guy then I must be right."
I think he's wrong. If you plan to be in your home 3+ years in my market I think you're going to do great if you buy now.
Hey Ricardo, I just commented on another post about this guy. :) I'm trying to be nice by not saying anything at all. Hee Hee. Seriously.
Hope all is well over there.
Thanks for sharing Lenn's post...it was GREAT! If only someone could find a way to bleep out his words when he says anything about real estate. It's a great time to buy (in most markets), with interest rates still low and several markets at or near their bottoms...there's only one way to go...UP!
I try not to listen to anyone like him spewing anything negative about our market, especially when he's not an expert in our field. That would be like me going on the air telling everyone not to buy stock, I haven't a clue! He needs to stick to what he does best and let us do our jobs!
Eric: the fundamental flaw in his analysis is that he views real estate as a stock; as you said, a mere profit/loss proposition. Though the markets rally up and down and certain areas have tanked, homes don't rally like stocks do; we're talking a larger time-line here. Stocks can tank from one day to the next as we've seen with many lending institutions.
A home that you by anywhere near the bottom will perform well over time.
Cheryl: thank you for sharing the link! I'm sure many would like to view his rebuttal video.
Bouyaaaaa Cramer!!
You've got to love him and you have to hate him. He's up in the Northeast and my market is still strong........What does he know about real estate?
Here's a quote referenced in Brian Brady's post: I think it says it all best!
"Real estate is a local business, driven by local buyers and sellers, and best served by local professionals."
-- Gary Keller, Founder, Keller Williams Realty- February, 2000
Four words:
Jim Cramer
Bear Stearns
Joseph,
What are you talking about???
I use these statisticcs with both buyers and sellers.
Se my post at: http://activerain.com/blogs/jpeters
I use these statisticcs with both buyers and sellers.
Se my post at: http://activerain.com/blogs/jpeters
Very informative article. Buying and selling a house is a serious decision. It is the largest purchase one has ever made in his or her life.