We'd heard that David Lereah, the economist who's been the public face of the National Association of Realtors in print and broadcast media, was leaving his post at the NAR and moving to Move.com. Mr. Lereah's rosy prognostications have been the subject of considerable scorn in the blogs. Now the smart kids at the Inman blog are speculating about a new entity that Lereah will be heading. If this were a blind item, it would run something like
What new entity is being set up by a former executive of a trade group/lobbying organization currently under investigation by both the Justice Department and state attorneys-general and whose members may be implicated for their role in the sub-prime mortgage crisis?Move.com is the home of the NAR's Realtor.com, and appears to be primarily a lead generator for NAR members. For a business who's members (and non-members) keep insisting that all real estate is local, these monoliths make no sense. So our guess is the new business is a full-service online brokerage including appraisal, title, and financing. Just a hunch.
· Solve this Move mystery [Inman Blog]
· David Lereah Watch [David Lereah Watch] [Note: Curbed SF can be hard on the NAR and often ridicules the business of real estate. Let's just say by way of disclaimer that we don't paint everyone in the business with the same brush, or that ethics have entirely evaporated from the profession.]